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THE BLUE 

and 

THE GRAY 




GopyrightN^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSn^ 



THE BLUE 

and 

THE GRAY 



By 
Janet Jennings 



Author of 
•ABRAHAM LINCOLN. THE GREATEST AMERICAN' 



"Lord God of Hosts, be with us pet. 
Lest we forget — lest we forgetl ' 






/ 



Copyright, 1910 
By 

Janet Jennings 



Cantwell Printing Company, 
Madison, Wis. 



!CLA275672 



4 

V 

N 










1 




CONTENTS. 






i 




Page 


k 


Winchester— Shenandoah 




9 




President— Lieutenant-General 


-„ 


24 




Atlanta to the Sea - - 




- 43 




Petersburg— Richmond 


- 


60 




Waterloo of Lee's Retreat 




- 80 




Appomattox— Surrender - 


- 


101 




Sherman—Johnston - - - 




- 126 




Grand Review— Commanders 


- 


136 




Reader of Men— Statesman - 




- 157 






Tributes 


- 


172 




Chapter X - 


Sheridan's Ride 

Sherman's March to the Sea 


- 197 
199 






. Star-Spangled Banner - 




- 201 



Looking down the mists of forty-five years — 
then seeing through a glass darkly — now seeing 
with clear vision, the men who wore the Blue and 
the men who wore the Gray — with Grant and Lee 
at Appomattox. To these men, brave under two 
flags, now loyal to one flag, this little book is dedi- 
cated. 



PREFACE 

To write of the most stupendous Civil 
War ever waged by a Nation would be 
above and beyond ordinary aspiration, how- 
ever patriotic, if it were not for the hope 
and belief that the aim of this little book- 
made plain in simplicity and directness — 
will appeal to the Army Veteran — Union 
and Confederate — and will inspire in 
younger generations tliat spirit of steadfast 
loyalty, perfect justice, and unexampled 
magnanimity, which inspired the great 
leaders of men who saved the Union. 

Years pass quickly. On the one hand, 
there was the waste basket — on the other, 
always the thought holding back treasured 
facts and incidents, slowly but .surely fa- 
ding into a memory. 

And now, giving permanent form to 
"odds and ends," no doubt with many 
faults, it is my sincere desire to give the 
best at the smallest cost, to readers who are 
not likely to have access to more complete 
works. This is made possible by the courte- 



The Blue and the Gray 

ous and freely given permission in the use 
of quotations, for which I make grateful 
acknowledgment. 

I am especially grateful to General Fred- 
erick D. Grant for the privilege of quoting 
from his father's "Personal Memoirs/^ in 
the assurance, 'Whatever is satisfactory to 
the Century Company will be entirely satis- 
factory to my family and myself," and add- 
ing, "I feel quite sure your book will be 
very interesting and trust that it will be a 
great success/' 

In quoting more fully from the "Per- 
sonal Memoirs" thaa at first plaoned or 
intended, I have had in mind the force- 
ful interest and historic value given by the 
use of General Grant's own words — and 
also, believing that it will hold the reader 
to a clear and true understanding of the 
life and character of our greatest soldier. 

I appreciate, far more than a few words 
express, the similar favor in the courteous 
permission of the Century Company to 
quote from General John M. Schofield's 
"Forty-Six Years in the Army," selecting 



The Blue and the Gray 

his character study af General Grant, so just 
and true, that it will be prized as a perfect 
tribute. With equal courtesy, permission is 
given by the Young Churchman Company 
to quote from Colonel Mcholas Smith's 
"Grant, the Man of Mystery," and the pub- 
lishers of the "Life of General Philip H. 
Sheridan," by Colonel Eichard J. Hinton 
and Frank A. Burr. 

With such helpful encouragement, this 
little book cannot fail to prove stronger, 
better, and more worth while— not to ex- 
tenuate war, but to advocate peace. 

Janet Jennings. 
McKinley Place, Monroe, Wisconsin, 



THE BLUE 

and 
THE GRAY 



CHAPTEE I. 

Winchester — Shenandoah. 

The battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 
1864, is also known as the battle of Win- 
chester — ^immortalized by Thamas Buchan- 
an Eead in the famous poem, "Sheridan's 
Eide/' 

G-eneral Sheridan was an abrupt, im- 
pulsive, tender hearted man, and a singular- 
ly modest man. It was seldom that he 
would talk of himself, an.d only when in just 
the right mood. One morning, several years 
before his fatal illness, sitting in his office 
at the War Department in Washington, he 
looked' over to a pictiire tHat had been 
placed on an easel for his approval, and in 
a tone of dissent said: 
[9] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"Oh^ no. It wasn't half as pretty as 
that. 1^0 artist can ever paint a battle. It 
can't be done at the time. Then, there is 
something else to be done, and the soldiers 
do it. The painters keep out of the way, 
until if s over, and of course the scene is 
changed — ^the action gone. Why, a battle 
is too horrible to be painted. The men and 
horses who live through it can be painted. 
But they can't be placed on canvas as they 
are in action, on the field. My black horse, 
Eienzi, was painted a number of times when 
he was alive, and since he has been up there, 
in the Museum, on Governor's Island." 

After a little pause he told the story of 
Winchester. 

"My headquarters were at Front Eoyal. 
The Secretary of War sent for me to come 
to Washington. Just as I was about to 
start, I got a dispatch, sent by General 
Wright in command of the 6th Corps. It 
had been taken off a Confederate signal flag 
on Three-Top Mountain. It was this: 
To General Early: 

[10] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Be ready to move as soon as my forces 
join yon and we will crnsh Sheridan. 

LoNGSTREET^ Lient-Greneral. 

"I thought at first this was a ruse. Early 
was np to tricks. But to be on the safe side, 
I sent my Cavalry back to General Wright 
at Cedar Creek, with instructions how to 
use the troops in case of attack. Then I 
left for Washington; got there on the morn- 
ing of the 17th, saw the Secretary, started 
back at noon the same day for Winchester, 
arriving the next night. That was the night 
of the 18th. The following morning I heard 
artillery firing, and I mounted my horse, 
rode out of town a couple of miles, to see 
what it meant." 

The General got up and made several 
quick strides across the room. 

"Well, I saw what it meant, and mighty 

d d quick, too. First, it was clouds of 

dust — then on they came — men, horses, wag- 
ons — all fast enough. I took in the situa- 
tion like a flash. My Army had been turned 
the wrong way." 

Again he left his chair, and walked two 
[11] 



The Blue and the Gray 

or three times across the room, more rapidly 
than before. The light on his face revealed 
intense feeling, as if he felt the very at- 
mosphere of that desperate moment, at 
Winchester. 

"I swore some — probably never swore bet- 
ter in my life. But I didn't lose any time 
giving orders — first to halt and park the 
wagon trains. There was one Brigade at 
Winchester. I stretched that Brigade as 
quick as lightning across the country, to 
stop my men's retreat. Then calling to two 
or three of my Staff to come on, I put the 
spurs to Eienzi, and rode like the very 

d 1, for life or death, to the Front. For 

miles I swung my hat like a madman, and 
shouted: Tace the other way, boys! Oh, 
for God's sake and the old flag, boys, face 
the other way !' " 

He was walking up and down the room as 
he talked. 

"Oh, they knew that black horse, through 

all the dust. And I can tell you they did 

face the other way. Above the din and roar 

and dust, there was the shout and the cheers 

[12] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of thousands^, that seemed to reach the very- 
Heavens above, repeating my cry: 'For 
God's sake and the old flag^ boys, face the 
other way!'" 

His eyes were shining, and his voice was 
far from steady, as he continued: 

' * On they went to the Front, and on, and 
on, and faster! And how they did fight! 
Splendid and brave men, as ever went into 
battle. They all got there on time, too. 
Mighty few of them that didn't take a hand 
in the fight. They were not to blame for 
the panic. Had my orders been carried out, 
the thing never could have happened." 

When he sat down there was a smile on 
his face that expressed much satisfaction as 
he added: 

"That was the last of old Early in the 
Valley. Jubal didn't have much of any 
occupation after that." 

His graphic recital made a finer picture 
of the battle of Winchester than any artist 
could ever paint, and as lasting as memory 
itself. There was a suspicious moisture in 
my eyes that might have been tears — and in 
[13] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the few moments of silence — ^looking at the 
picture, the General repeated, "Oh, no, not 
half as pretty as that/^ 

When I was leaving he said, gently : 
"Don^t use this little story now. Time 
will soften the bitterness and sorrow of the 
war. Then it will be all right." 

The glory of the Shenandoah was always 
around Sheridan. Its brightness dimmed 
the later glory of his achievements in the 
Virginia campaign, making the last words 
in the following telegram a prophecy. It 
was after the battle of Pront Eoyal, and 
Fisher's Hill, coming close upon Opequan. 

City Point, Ya., Sept. 23, 1864. 
Major General Sheridan: 

I have just heard of your second great 
victory, and ordered one hundred guns in 
honor of it. Keep on, and your work will 
cause the fall of Eichmond. 

U. S. Grant, Lieut-General. 

From the White House there was flashed 
over the wires another message: 
Major General Sheridan: 
[14] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Have just heard of your great victory. 
God bless you all — officers and men. Strong- 
ly inclined to come up and see you. 

A. Lincoln. 

One month later and this telegram — so 
characteristic that it would be recognized 
without the signature of the writer — ^was 
received by the Secretary of War in Wash- 
ington : 

In the Field. 

Gaylesville, Ala., Oct. 21, 1864. 
We have heard of General Sheridan^s 
great victory at Cedar Creek. We can^t af- 
ford to burn gun powder, but our m^n can 
make it up in yelling, which is just as good. 

W. T. Sheeman^ 
Major General Commanding. 
The following day, October 22, another 
message from the White House went over the 
wires : 

With great pleasure I tender to you and 
your brave Army the thanks of the ISTation, 
and my own personal admiration and grati- 
[15] 



The Blue and the Gray 

tude^ for the month's operations in the Shen- 
andoah Valley, and especially for the splen- 
did work of October 19, 1864. 

A. Lincoln. 

The battle of Cedar Creek practically end- 
ed the struggle in the Shenandoah Valley. 
General Grant — who had united the Army 
of the Potomac and the Army of the James 
before Petersburg — also telegraphed from 
his headquarters at City Point to the Secre- 
tary of War in Washington : 

I had a salute of one hundred guns from 
our Armies here, fired in honor of Sheridan's 
last victory. Turning what had bid fair to 
be disaster, into glorious victory, stamps 
Sheridan what I have always thought him — 
one of the ablest of Generals. 

U. S. Grant^ Lieut-General. 
In his Personal Memoirs, written twenty 
years after the war. General Grant says: 
"On the 15th day of September, I started to 
visit General Sheridan in the Shenandoah 
Valley. My purpose was to have him attack 
Early and drive him out of the Valley and 
[16] 



The Blue and the Gray 

destroy that source of supplies for Lee's 
Army. I knew it was impossible for me to 
get orders through Washington to Sheridan 
to make a move, because they would be 
stopped there, and such orders as Halleck's 
caution (and that of the Secretary of War) 
would suggest, would be given instead, and 
would, no doubt, be contradictory to mine. 
I, therefore, without stopping at Washing- 
ton, went directly through to Charlestown, 
some ten miles above Harper's Ferry, and 
waited there to see General Sheridan, having 
sent a courier in advance to inform him 
where to meet me. 

"When Sheridan arrived, I asked him if 
he had a map showing the positions of his 
Army and that of the enemy. He at once 
drew one out of his side pocket, showing all 
roads and streams and the camps of the two 
Armies. * * * Before starting I had 
drawn up a plan of campaign for Sheridan, 
which I had brought with me; but seeing 
that he was so clear and so positive in his 
views and so confident of success^ I said noth- 
2 [17] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ing about this, and did not take it out of 
my pocket. 

"Sheridan^s wagon trains were kept at 
Harper^s Ferry, where all his stores were. 
* * * Knowing that he, in making prep- 
arations to move at a given day, would have 
to bring up wagon trains from Harper's 
Ferry, I asked him if he could be ready to 
get off by the following Tuesday. This was 
Friday. He said he could be off before day- 
light on Monday. I told him then to make 
the attack at that time and according to his 
own plan; and I immediately started to re- 
turn to the Army about Eichmond. * * * 
Sheridan moved at the time he had fixed 
upon. He met Early at the Crossing of Ope- 
quon Creek, and won a most decisive victory 
— one which electrified the country.'' 

Of the battle of Cedar Creek, General 
Grant says : "This victory pretty much closed 
the campaigning in the Valley of Virginia. 
All the Confederate troops were sent back to 
Eichmond, with the exception of one division 
of Infantry and a little Cavalry. * * ♦ 
Early had lost more men in killed, wounded 
[18] 



The Blue and the Gray 

and captured in the Valley, than Sheridan 
had commanded from first to last/' 

In the spring of the same year, .March, 
1864, when General Grant was commissioned 
Lieutenant General, in command of all the 
Armies, he looked about for a Cavalry lead- 
er. Sheridan was the Colonel of a Cavalry 
regiment — ^the 2nd Michigan — but practical- 
ly unknown to the country. General Grant, 
however, had already seen "how much there 
was in him." Of the selection of Sheridan, 
General Grant says: "In one of my early 
interviews with the President, I expressed 
my dissatisfaction with the little that had 
been accomplished by the Cavalry so far in 
the war, and the belief that it was capable 
of accomplishing much more than it had 
done if under a thorough leader. I said I 
wanted the very best man in the Army for 
that command. Halleck was present and 
spoke up, saying : ^How would Sheridan do T 
I replied: 'The very man I want.' The 
President said I could have anybody I want- 
ed. Sheridan was telegraphed for that day 
[19] 



The Blue and the Gray 

and on his arrival was assigned to the com- 
mand of the Cavalry Corps." 

On the 27th of February, 1865, (General 
Sheridan and his Cavalry left Winchester, 
marched up the Valley of the Shenandoah 
to Staunton, destroying the railroad from 
that place to Charlottesville and Gordons- 
ville, within sixteen miles of Lynchburg. He 
also destroyed the railroad connecting Eich- 
mond with Lynchburg, and disabled the 
James Eiver Canal, cutting off the Confeder- 
ate supplies from that quarter. It was on 
this march that General Custer's division 
made a brilliant attack near Waynesboro and 
gave the finish to General Early's Army, 
then in an intrenched position, resulting in 
the capture of eleven pieces of artillery, 
horses and caissons complete, two hundred 
teams with subsistence, seventeen battle 
flags, and sixteen hundred officers and en- 
listed men. Custer's attack was so sudden 
and made with such magnificent daring, that 
the Confederate soldiers actually cheered 
when they threw down their arms and sur- 
rendered. 

[20] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Early barely escaped capture by 
flight into the town. So mnch of his artil- 
lery had been taken by Sheridan that some 
of the last captured guns were marked : "To 
General Sheridan, Care of General Early," 
as if the irony of fate had destined them 
for Sheridan anyhow. 

The almost impassable condition of the 
roads from heavy rains compelled a delay of 
two days at Charlottesville. While thus de- 
layed, General Sheridan learned that large 
forces of the Confederates were concentrat- 
ing at Lynchburg, including Pickett's In- 
fantry and Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry from 
Richmond. He then decided to join the 
Army of the Potomac before Petersburg. 
With this in view, Sheridan first sent his 
prisoners back to Winchester, replaced his 
worn out mules with horses taken from 
Early, and pushed rapidly on toward Rich- 
mond, making the destruction of the rail- 
road communication between the Confed- 
erate Capital and Lynchburg more complete 
and extending the destruction of the Canal 
within a short distance of Richmond. Con- 
[21] 



The Blue and the Gray 

tinuing his march round on the North to 
the Pamunkey Eiver, Sheridan crossed at 
White House and found the supplies await- 
ing him, which had been sent there by Gen- 
eral Grant. 

At Frederick's Hall Station, some dis- 
tance above Hanover Court House, General 
Custer's division made a dash for the tele- 
graph office, capturing dispatches which 
told of General Early's whereabouts and of 
his intention to move up with his Cavalry 
on Sheridan. Custer at once sent a regi- 
ment after Early, captured the most of his 
force, including his Staff and Orderlies, and 
the second time on this march Early himself 
barely escaped capture, now seeking safety 
in flight to Eichmond. His campaign in 
the Shenandoah was ended, with the loss of 
his entire Army. 

General Sheridan's march was made 
against great odds, in the nature of incessant 
rains, swollen streams, swamps and bad 
roads. All along the way hundreds of ne- 
groes or "contrabands," as they were called, 
followed and willingly worked their way for 
[22] 



The Blue and the Gray 

food and freedom. On the 26th of March, 
only a month after leaving Winchester, Sher- 
idan had reached and crossed the James 
Eiver and formed a junction with the Army 
of the Potomac, under General Grant, be- 
fore Petersburg. On this, one of the most 
remarkable marches in military history, 
fighting the enemy and contending with the 
elements for a month, Sheridan's loss was 
not over one hundred men, and some of these 
were left by the way because unable to bear 
the fatigue of travel. It was a fitting sequel 
to Sheridan's Shenandoah campaign, which, 
for rapid, effective work, in a series of bril- 
liant victories, is without a parallel in any 
war. 

While General Sheridan himself felt that 
his work in the Shenandoah might "cause 
the fall of Eichmond," his inarch and unit- 
ing with General Grant's Army proved that 
he had "builded better than he knew." 



[23] 



CHAPTEE II. 

President — Lieuten ant-General. 

It was on the 9th of March, 1864, that 
General Grant went to Washington and re- 
ceived from the hand of the President, in 
the presence of the Cabinet, the Commission 
of Lieutenant- General. He was accom- 
panied by his Staff and his eldest son, Fred- 
erick D. Grant, a lad of fifteen, who was 
with his father most of the time during the 
war, learning even then to be a soldier — ^now 
Major-General in the United States Army. 
When the President presented the commis- 
sion he said: 

"General Grant, the nation's appreciation 
of what you have done, and its reliance upon 
you for what remains to be done in the ex- 
isting great struggle, are now presented with 
this commission, constituting you Lieuten- 
ant-General in the Army of the United 
States. With this high honor, devolves upon 
you, also, a corresponding responsibility. As 
the country herein trusts you, so, under God, 
it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add 
[24] 




Gen. Grant, at Headquarters, City Point, 1865 



The Blue and the Gray 

that, with what I here speak for the I^ation, 
goes my own hearty personal concurrence." 

General Grant replied : 

^'Mr. President : I accept the Commission, 
with gratitude for the high honor conferred. 
With the aid of the noble Armies that have 
fought in so many fields for our common 
country, it will be my earnest endeavor not 
to disappoint your expectations. I feel the 
full weight of the responsibilities now de- 
volving on me, and I know that if they are 
met, it will be due to those Armies, and, 
above all, to the favor of that Providence 
which leads both Nations and men." 

President Lincoln and General Grant had 
never met before, and it was especially fitting 
that their first meeting should be this occa- 
sion in the historic White House. General 
Grant says : "Although hailing from Illinois 
myself, the state of the President, I had 
never met Mr. Lincoln until called to the 
Capital to receive my commission of Lieu- 
tenant-General. I knew him, however, very 
well and favorably from the accounts given 
by officers under me in the West, who had 
[25] 



The Blue and the Gray 

known him all their lives. I had also read 
the remarkable series of debates between 
Lincoln and Douglas a few years before, when 
they were rival candidates for the United 
States Senate. I was then a resident of 
Missouri and not a 'Lincoln man^ in that 
contest, but I recognized his great abil- 
ity. In my first interview with Mr. Lincoln 
alone, he stated to me that he had never 
professed to be a military man, or to know 
how campaigns should be conducted, and 
never wanted to interfere with them. * * * 
All he wanted or had ever wanted was some 
one who would take the responsibility and 
act, and call on him for all the assistance 
needed, pledging himself to use all the power 
of the government in rendering such assist- 
ance. * * * The Secretary of War I 
had met once before only, but felt that I 
knew him better. While commanding in 
West Tennessee we had occasionally held 
conversations over the wires, at night, when 
they were not being otherwise used. He and 
General Halleck both cautioned me against 
giving the President my plans of campaign, 
[26] 



The Blue and the Gray 

saying that the President was so kind-heart- 
ed, so averse to refusing anything asked of 
him, that some friend would be sure to get 
from him all he knew. * * * I should 
have said that in our interview the President 
told me he did not want to know what I 
proposed to do. * * * I did not com- 
municate my plans to the President, nor did 
I to the Secretary of War, or to General 
Halleck." 

In the previous year, July 13, 1863, a 
week after the fall of Yicksburg, the Presi- 
dent had written to General Grant: 

"I do not remember that you and I ever 
met personally. I write this now as a grate- 
ful acknowledgment for the almost ines- 
timable service you have done the country. 
I write to say a word further. When you 
first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I 
thought you should do what you finally did 
—march the troops across the neck, run the 
batteries with the transports, and thus go 
below; and I never had any faith except a 
general hope that you knew better than I, 
that the Yazoo Pass Expedition, and the 
[27] 



The Blue and the Gray 

like, could succeed. When you got below 
and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vi- 
cinity, I thought you should go down the 
river and join General Banks; and when you 
turned Northward, East of the Big Black, I 
feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make 
the personal acknowledgment that you were 
right and I was wrong." 

The surrender of Vicksburg included 
31,600 men, 172 cannon, about 60,000 mus- 
kets, and a large amount of ammunition. 
Probably never before was so great a vic- 
tory won, at so small a sacrifice of life. 

When General Pemberton, in command 
of Vicksburg, proposed an armistice, with a 
view to terms for surrender, all communica- 
tions were under a flag of truce, and General 
Grant says: 

"It was a glorious sight to officers and 
men on the line where these white flags 
were visible, and the news soon spread to 
all parts of the command. The troops felt 
that their long and weary marches, hard 
fighting, ceaseless watching by night and 
day, in a hot climate, exposure to all sorts 
[28] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of weather, to diseases, and worst of all, to 
the gibes of many JSTorthem papers that 
came to them, saying all their suffering was 
in vain — that Vicksburg would never be 
taken — were now at an end, and the Union 
sure to be saved/^ 

Of the first meeting with General Pem- 
berton, he says: 

"At three o^clock Pemberton appeared at 
the point suggested in my verbal message, 
accompanied by the same officers who had 
borne his letter of the morning. Generals 
Ord, McPherson, Logan, and A. J. Smith, 
and several officers of my Staff, accompanied 
me. Our place of meeting was on a hill- 
side, within a few hundred feet of the Con- 
federate lines. JSTear by stood a stunted oak 
tree, which was made historical by the event. 
It was but a short time before the last ves- 
tige of its body, root and limb, had disap- 
peared — ^the fragments taken as trophies. 
Since then the same tree has furnished as 
many cords of wood in the shape of relics, 
as the 'True Cross.' * * * Pemberton 
and I had served in the same division 
[29] 



The Blue and the Gray 

during part of the Mexican War. I kne^' 
him very well, therefore, and greeted him 
as an old acquaintance." 

This interview ended with an agreement 
that General Grant would send a letter giv- 
ing the final terms, by ten o'clock that night 
— in the meantime both sides holding the 
truce. General Grant then called together 
his Corps and Division Commanders, in- 
formed them of the substance of the inter- 
view, accepting suggestions, but holding the 
power of deciding entiiely in his own hands 
— and adds: 

"This was the nearest approach to a 
'Council of War' I ever held." 

The result was that his letter with final 
terms for the surrender of Vicksburg was 
sent to Pemberton against the almost 
unanimous judgment of the Council. 

During the siege, all Confederates were 
known as "Johnnies," and Union soldiers 
as "Yanks," and there was much friendly 
sparring between the picket lines. A Con- 
federate would call: "Well, Yank, when 
[30] 



The Blue and the Gray 

are you coming into town ?" Sometimes the 
reply would be: "We intend to celebrate 
the Fourth of July there/' The Yicksburg 
paper — printed on the plain side of wall 
paper — said the best recipe for cooking a 
rabbit was — "First ketch your rabbit." The 
last number of the paper^ issued on the 
Fourth of July, announced: "The rabbit 
is ketched/' 

On the Fourth of July, Vicksburg sur- 
rendered — the Confederate troops marched 
out of the garrison, stacked arms, and re- 
turned to remain until all were paroled. 
They passed between two lines of Union 
soldiers, in silence. Under Greneral Grant's 
instruction, there was not a cheer or a 
word, from the victors, that would hu- 
miliate or give pain to the fallen foe. It 
was a week before the paroles were com- 
pleted, and the Confederates occupied their 
old camps behind the intrenchments — no 
restraint upon them, except that by their 
own Commanders — and "the men of the 
two Armies fraternized as if they had been 
fighting for the same cause." 
[31] 



The Blue and the Gray 

The great victory at Gettysburg was won 
on the same day. But it was the fall of 
Vieksburg that sealed the fate of the Con- 
federacy. General Edward P. Alexander of 
the Confederate Army, declared that Gen- 
eral Grants Vieksburg campaign was the 
most brilliant strategy of the whole war. 

"The signs look better. The Father of 
Waters again goes unvexed to the sea." 

The victory at Gettysburg — ^the fall of 
Vieksburg — ^the clean sweep of the Missis- 
sippi, followed in quick succession. A spirit 
of rejoicing was abroad in the North, ready 
for "National Thanksgiving, Praise and 
Prayer,'^ and the foUlowing Proclamation 
was issued July 15, 1863 : 

"It has pleased Almighty God to hearken 
to the supplication and prayers of an afflicted 
people, and to vouchsafe to the Army and 
the Navy of the United States, on the land 
and on the sea, victories so signal and effec- 
tive as to furnish reasonable grounds for 
augmented confidence that the Union of 
these States will be maintained and their 
Constitution preserved, and their peace and 
[32] 



The Blue and the Gray 

prosperity permanently secured. But these 
victories have been accorded not without sac- 
rifice of life, limb and liberty, incurred by 
brave, patriotic and loyal citizens. Domestic 
affliction in every part of the country follov^s 
in the train of these fearful bereavements. 
It is meet and right to recognize and confess 
the presence of the Almighty Father, and 
the power of His hand equally in these 
triumphs and these sorrows. 

Now, therefore, be it known, that I do set 
apart Thursday, the sixth day of August, 
next, to be observed as a day for National 
Thanksgiving, praise and prayer; and I in- 
vite the people of the United States to as- 
semble, on that occasion, in their customary 
places of worship, and in the form approved 
by their own conscience, render the homage 
due to Divine Majesty for the wonderful 
things He has done in the Nation's behalf, 
and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit 
to subdue the anger which has produced, and 
so long sustained, a needless and cruel re- 
bellion; to change the hearts of the insur- 
gents; to guide the counsels of the govem- 
3 [33] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ment with wisdom adequate to so great a 
national emergency ; and to visit with tender 
care and consolation, throughout the length 
and breadth of our land, all those who, 
through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, 
battles and sieges, have been brought to suf- 
fer in mind, body or estate; and finally, to 
lead the whole Nation through the paths of 
repentance and submission to the Divine 
will, back to the perfect enjoyment of Union 
and fraternal peace. 

A. Lincoln. 

On April 30, 1864, several weeks after the 
interview following the presentation of the 
Commission of Lieutenant- General, the 
President wrote to General Grant: 

"Not expecting to see you before the spring 
campaign opens, I wish to express in this 
way my entire satisfaction with what you 
have done up to this time, so far as I under- 
stand it. The particulars of your plans I 
neither know nor seek to know. You are 
vigilant and self reliant; and, pleased with 
this, I wish not to obtrude any restraints or 
constraints upon you. 

[34] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"While I am very anxious that any great 
disaster or capture of our men in great num- 
bers shall be avoided, I know that these 
points are less likely to escape your attention 
than they would mine. If there be anything 
wanting, which is within my power to give, 
do not fail to let me know it. 

"And now, with a brave Army and a just 
cause, may God sustain you.'^ 

General Grant was deeply touched by this 
letter. He cared little for praise or fame. 
But these words from the great heart of the 
President made an impression upon him, and 
the following day — a quiet Sunday afternoon 
— ^he wrote his answer: 

"Your very kind letter of yesterday is just 
received. The confidence you express for the 
future and satisfaction for the past in my 
military administration is acknowledged with 
pride. * * * i have never had any cause 
of complaint * * * against the adminis- 
tration or the Secretary of War, for throwing 
any embarrassment in the way of my vigor- 
ously prosecuting what appears to be my 
duty. * * * J have been astonished at 
[35] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the readiness with which everything asked 
for has been yielded, without even an explana- 
tion being asked. Should my success be less 
than I desire and expect, the least I can say 
is, the fault is not with you." 

The President's abiding faith in General 
Grant was steadfast from beginning to end, 
and never at any moment disturbed by doubt 
or criticism. Whether writing to him or talk- 
ing about him, there was always this lumin- 
ous faith and absolute confidence in the great 
soldier. In reply to an invitation to a mass 
meeting in New York city, June 4, 1864, 
just a month before Vicksburg surrendered, 
Mr. Lincoln said: 

^'I approve of whatever may tend to 
strengthen and sustain General Grant and 
the noble Armies now under his direction. 
My previous high estimate of General Grant 
has been maintained and heightened by what 
has occurred in the remarkable campaign he 
is now conducting, while the magnitude and 
difficulty of the task before him do not prove 
less than I expected. He and his brave sol- 
diers are now in the midst of their great trial, 
[36] 



The Blue and the Gray 

and I trust that at your meeting you will so 
shape your good words that they may turn 
to men and guns, moving to his and their 
support.'^ 

When Congress revived the grade of Lieu- 
tenant-General the 29th of February, 1864, 
it went back to George Washington, who 
alone had been Commissioned with this rank 
from 1798 to the time of his death in De- 
cember, 1799. General Winfield Scott held 
this rank, only by brevet, for ten years pre- 
ceding his death in 1866. Though no name 
was mentioned in the Act of Congress, it was 
well understood that it would be the promo- 
tion of General Grant. 

With his promotion of Lieutenant-General, 
in command of the Armies of the United 
States, General Grant at once began to direct 
the various commands. East and West, and 
prepare for the spring campaign. The day 
after receiving his Commission from the 
President he went to the headquarters of 
General Meade, commanding the Army of the 
Potomac, at Brandy Station, ISTorth of the 
Eapidan, He also promptly advanced General 
[37] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Sherman to his own late position, and Gen- 
eral McPherson to Sherman^s, and General 
Logan to McPherson^s — these changes being 
made on his recommendation, without hesita- 
tion or delay at the White Honse. In fact, the 
President was as ready to do this as General 
Grant to recommend it. Of his visit to Gen- 
eral Meade he says : 

"I had known General Meade slightly in 
the Mexican war, but had not met him since 
■until this visit. I was a stranger to most of 
the Army of the Potomac — I might say to all 
except the oflScers of the Eegular Army, who 
had served in the Mexican war. There had 
been some changes ordered in the organiza- 
tion of the Army before my promotion. * * * 
Meade evidently thought I might want to 
make still one more change not yet ordered. 
He said to me that I might want an officer 
who had served with me in the West, men- 
tioning Sherman, specially, to take his place. 
If so, he begged me not to hesitate about 
making the change. He urged that the work 
before us was of such vast importance to the 
whole Nation that the feeling or wishes of no 
[38] 



The Blue and the Gray 

one person should stand in the way of select- 
ing the right men for the positions. For 
himself, he would serve to the best of his 
ability wherever placed. I assured him that 
I had no thought of substituting any one 
for him. As to Sherman, he could not be 
spared from the West. 

"This incident gave me even a more favor- 
able opinion of Meade, than did his great 
victory at Gettysburg, the July before. It 
is men who wait to be selected, and not those 
who seek, from whom we may always expect 
the most efficient service." 

General Meade had been in supreme com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac for nearly 
a year — except from the authorities at Wash- 
ington. And now. General Grant, always 
generous and considerate, made General 
Meade's position as nearly as possible what 
it would have been if he had been in Wash- 
ington, or any other place away from Meade's 
command. He gave all orders for the move- 
ments of the Army of the Potomac to Gen- 
eral Meade to have them executed. 
[39] 



The Blue and the Gray 

When the responsibility of directing 600,- 
000 men in the Armies of the Union and 600 
war ships was laid upon General Grant, the 
eyes of the civilized world were fixed upon 
him. Many were in donbt as to the result. 
But there were two men whose faith in final 
victory was as fixed as the foundation of the 
hills — Lincoln and Grant. Each believed in 
the other. 

On General Grant's return to Washing- 
ton after his visit to General Meade, he pre- 
pared to leave, without delay, for West Ten- 
nessee, to meet General Sherman. Prepara- 
tions, however, were in full swing to give a 
dinner and reception in his honor, at the 
White House — and also, he was to be re- 
ceived by Congress. But he could not be 
persuaded to stay over, though urged to do 
so by the President and Mrs. Lincoln. Fi- 
nally he said: 

"The time is very precious just now, and 
really, Mr. President, I believe I have had 
enough of this show business." 

There had been a reception at the White 
[40] 



The Blue and the Gray 

House the evening before the day of receiv- 
ing his Commission, and in spite of going 
in quietly and unannounced, there was no 
escape from crowds of enthusiastic friends 
and admirers. He could face the whole 
Confederate Army, but had to retreat from 
"this show business.'' 

The dinner and reception were given, but 
the guest of honor was speeding away to 
his duties in the field — having neither time 
nor desire for social ovations — the man who 
"fights," as Mr. Lincoln said — "setting the 
bells of time ringing in a better day for the 
Union." 

It seems incredible, but is none the less 
a fact, that while the President had called 
on the people to return thanks and pray- 
ers, aud guns were fired in honor of Gen- 
eral Grant — who had up to this time won 
the only decisive victories for the Union — 
politicians and '* higher-up" jealousies in 
the Army were clamoring for his removal 
with a persistent injustice having no par- 
allel in the history of modern warfare. 

The President was beset on all sides, and 
[41] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Colonel McClure of Philadelphia, one of the 
very influential public men, called on Mr. 
Lincoln and urged him, "in the name of the 
people," to remove General Grant. Colonel 
McClure told of this interview: 

"I appealed to Lincoln for his own sake 
to remove Grant at once, and in giving my 
reasons simply voiced the protest from the 
loyal people of the land against Grant's con- 
tinuance in command. * * * When I 
had said everything that could be said from 
my standpoint, we lapsed into silence. Lin- 
coln remained silent for what seemed a very 
long time. He then gathered himself up in 
his chair and said, in a tone of earnestness 
that I shall never forget: 

" ^I can't spare this man ; he fights.' That 
was all he said, but I knew that it was 
enough and that Grant was safe in Lincoln's 
hands against the countless hosts of ene- 



[42] 






n 




General Sherman 
1865 



CHAPTBE III. 
Atlanta to the Sea. 

The following autumn, when General 
Sheridan^s brilliant achievements swept 
"JubaFs occupation" out of the Shenandoah 
Valley, General Sherman's campaign was no 
less effective in Georgia — "smashing things 
to the sea.''^ 

I am now quoting General Grant more 
fully for the reason that above all the crit- 
ics, he knew best how great was General 
Sherman's work in the Civil War. 

Of General Sherman's Army and "March 
to the Sea," General Grant says: "The 
Southern papers in commenting upon Sher- 
man's movements pictured him as in the 
most deplorable condition — stating that his 
nien were starving, that they were demoral- 
ized and wandering about almost without 
object, aiming only to reach the sea coast, 
and get under the protection of our iN'avy. 
These papers got to the North and had more 
or less effect upon the minds of the people, 
causing distress to all loyal persons. * * * 
[43] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Mr. Lincoln, seeing these accounts, had a 
letter written asking me if I could give him 
anything that he could say to the loyal people 
that would comfort them. I told him there 
was not the slightest occasion for alarm — 
that with the 60,000 such men as Sherman 
had with him, such a commanding officer as 
he was, could not be cut off in the open coun- 
try. He might possibly be prevented from 
reaching the point he had started out to reach, 
but he would get through somewhere and 
would finally get through to his chosen des- 
tination, and even if worst came to worst, 
he could return North. I heard afterward 
of the President saying to those who would 
inquire of him as to what he thought about 
the safety of Sherman's Army, that Sherman 
was all right. "Grant says they are safe with 
such a General, and that if they cannot get 
out where they want to, they can crawl back 
by the hole they went in at." 

The only military force that was then op- 
posed to General Sherman's forward march 
was the Georgia Militia. At the capital — 
Milledgeville — the Governor, who had been al- 
[44] 



The Blue and the Gray 

most defying Jefferson Davis, now left sud- 
denly, also the Legislature and all State offi- 
cers. General Sherman said : "The Governor 
was careful to carry away all of his garden 
vegetables, and left the archives of the State 
to fall into our hands. '^ General Grant further 
says: "While at Milledgeville, the soldiers 
met at the State House, organized a Legis- 
lature and proceeded to business precisely 
as if they were the legislative body belonging 
to the State of Georgia. The debates were 
exciting, and were upon the subject of the 
situation the South was in at that time, par- 
ticularly the State of Georgia. They went 
so far as to repeal, after a spirited and acri- 
monious debate, the ordinance of secession. 

H: H« H: 

"Sherman's Army, after all the depletions, 
numbered about sixty thousand effective men. 
All weak men had been left to hold the rear, 
and those remaining were not only well men, 
but strong and hardy, so that he had sixty 
thousand as good soldiers as ever trod the 
earth; better than any European soldiers, 
because they not only worked like a machine, 
[45] 



The Blue and the Gray 

but the machine thought. European Armies 
know very little what they are fighting for, 
and care less. * * * The men are brave 
and the officers capable, but the majority of 
the soldiers in most of the nations of Europe 
are taken from a class of people who are not 
very intelligent, and who have very little 
interest in the contest in which they are 
called upon to take part. Our Armies were 
composed of men who were able to read, men 
who knew what they were fighting for, and 
could not be induced to serve as soldiers, 
except in an emergency when the safety of the 
Nation was involved, and so necessarily must 
have been more than equal to men who 
fought merely because they were brave, and 
because they were thoroughly drilled and 
inured to hardships. 

"On the 15th of November, the real march 
to the sea commenced. * * * Sherman's 
orders for this campaign were perfect. Be- 
fore starting he had sent back all sick, dis- 
abled and weak men, retaining nothing but 
the hardy, well-inured soldiers to accompany 
him on his long march in prospect. His ar- 
[46] 



The Blue and the Gray 

tillery was reduced to sixty-five guns. The 
ammunition carried with them was two hun- 
dred rounds for musket and gun. Small 
rations were taken in a small wagon train, 
which was loaded to its capacity for rapid 
movement. The Army was expected to live 
on the country, and to always keep the wag- 
ons full of forage and provisions against 
a possible delay of a few days. * * * At- 
lanta was destroyed so far as to render it 
worthless for military purposes before start- 
ing, Sherman himself remaining over a day 
to superintend the work. 

"The organization for supplying the Army 
was very complete. Each Brigade furnished 
a company to gather supplies of forage and 
provisions for the command, to which they 
belonged. Strict injunctions were tissued 
against pillaging or otherwise unnecessarily 
annoying the people ; but ever3rthing in shape 
of food for man and forage for beast was 
taken. The supplies were turned over to the 
Brigade commissary and Quartermaster, 
and were issued by them to their respective 
commands precisely the same as if they had 
[47] 



The Blue and the Gray 

been purchased. The captures consisted 
largely of cattle, sheep, poultry, some bacon, 
cornmeal, often molasses, and occasionally 
coffee or other small rations. 

"The skill of these men, called by them- 
selves and the Army, '^bunmiers,' in col- 
lecting their loads and getting back to 
their respective commands, was marvel- 
lous. When they started out in the 
morning they were always on foot, but 
scarcely one of them returned in the 
evening without being mounted on a horse or 
mule. * * * ]\|any of their exploits would 
fall under the head of romance — indeed, I 
am afraid that in telling some of their experi- 
ences, the romance got the better of the truth. 
* * * In one instance it was reported 
that a few men of Sherman's Army passed 
a house where they discovered some chickens 
under a dwelling. They immediately pro- 
ceeded to capture the chickens to add to the 
Army's supplies. The lady of the house, who 
happened to be at home, made appeals to have 
the chickens spared, saying they were a few 
she had put away to save. * * * The 
[48] 



The Blue and the Gray 

soldiers seemed moved at her appeal, but look- 
ing at the chickens again, they were tempted, 
and one of them replied: ^The rebellion 
must be suppressed if it takes the last chicken 
in the Confederacy/ and appropriated the 
last chicken. 

"Another anecdote characteristic of these 
times has been told. The South prior to the 
rebellion kept bloodhounds to pursue runaway 
slaves who took refuge in the neighboring 
swamps, and also to hunt convicts. Orders 
were issued to kill all these animals as they 
were met with. On one occasion a soldier 
picked up a poodle, the favorite pet of its 
mistress, and was carrying it off to execution 
when the lady made a strong appeal to him 
to spare it. The soldier replied: 'Madam, 
our orders are to kill every bloodhound.^ 
'But this is not a bloodhound,' said the lady. 
'Well, Madam, we cannot tell what it will 
grow into, if we leave it,' said the soldier as 
he went off with the poodle. Notwithstand- 
ing these anecdotes and the necessary hard- 
ships they would seem to imply, I do not 
believe there was much unwarrantable pillag- 
4 [49] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ing, considering that we were in the enemy's 
country." 

With the exception of a "pretty severe 
engagement" with Confederates, under the 
command of General Wheeler;, ahont one 
hundred miles from Milledgeville, there was 
little resistance to the Union troops, before 
reaching Savannah. General Wheeler — "Lit- 
tle fighting Joe'' — ^who was afterward in 
Congress, and one of the most loyal of men — 
was driven towards Augusta as the Con- 
federates supposed, General Sherman was 
aiming for that point. General Wade Hamp- 
ton, afterward in Congress also, was at' 
Augusta trying to raise Cavalry, and General 
Bragg had been sent to Augusta with troops, 
all three to unite against Sherman. It was 
too late, however, to do the work expected, 
and the Confederate, General Hardee, who 
was in command of Savannah, had probably 
less than ten thousand men. Of Savannah 
and conditions there General Grant says : 

"The country about Savannah is low and 
marshy, and the city was well intrenched 
from the river above to the river below, and 
[50] 



The Blue and the Gray 

assaults could not be made except along a 
comparatively narrow causeway. For this 
reason assaults must have resulted in serious 
destruction of life to the Union troops, with 
the chance of failing altogether. Sherman 
therefore decided upon a complete investment 
of the place. When he believed this invest- 
ment completed, he summoned the garrison 
to surrender." 

The siege of Savannah began on the 10th 
of December. On the night of the 21st, 
Savannah was evacuated, General Hardee 
first blowing up the N'avy Yard, destroying 
some iron-clads, and other property, at the 
same time leaving au "immense amount of 
stores untouched, consisting of cotton, rail- 
road cars, workshops, numerous pieces of ar- 
tillery, and several thousand stands of small 
arms." 

On the 26th, Mr. Lincoln telegraphed to 
General Sherman: 

"When you were about leaving Atlanta 

for the Atlantic Coast, I was anxious if 

not fearful; but feeling that you were the 

better judge, and remembering that 'noth- 

[51] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ing risked, nothing gained/ I did not in- 
terfere. Now, the undertaking being a suc- 
cess, the honor is all yours/' 

In regard to who planned this perfectly 
planned campaign — "March to the Sea" 
— General Grant decides beyond all question 
or doubt in the following concise statement: 

"As there was some discussion as to the 
authorship of Sherman's March to the Sea, 
by critics of his book when it appeared before 
the public, I want to state here that no ques- 
tion upon that subject was ever raised be- 
tween General Sherman and myself. Cir- 
cumstances made the plan on which Sherman 
expected to act impracticable, and as com- 
mander of the forces he necessarily had to 
devise a new one which would give more 
promise of success; consequently he recom- 
mended the destruction of the railroad back 
to Chattanooga, and that he should be author- 
ized then to move, as he did, from Atlanta 
forward. His suggestions were finally ap- 
proved, although they did not immediately 
find favor in Washington. Even when it 
came to the time of starting, the greatest ap- 
[52] ^ 



The Blue and the Gray 

prehension as to the propriety of the cam- 
paign filled the minds of the President's ad- 
visers. This went so far as to move the Pres- 
ident to ask me to suspend Sherman's march 
for a day or two until I conld think the mat- 
ter over. My recollection is — ^though I find 
no record to show it — that out of deference 
to the President's wishes^ I did send a dis- 
patch to Sherman asking him to wait a day 
or two, or else the connections between us 
were already cut, so that I could not do so. 
However this may he, the question of who de- 
vised the plan of march from Atlanta to Sa- 
vannah is easily answered. It was clearly 
Sherman, and to him also belongs the credit 
of its brilliant execution. It was hardly 
possible that any one else than those on the 
spot could have devised a new plan of cam- 
paign to supersede one that did not promise 
success. I was in favor of Sherman's plan 
from the time it was first submitted to me. 
My Chief of Staff, however, was very bitterly 
opposed to it and, as I learned subsequently, 
finding that he could not move me, he ap- 
pealed to the authorities at Washington to 
stop it." [531 



The Blue and the Gray 

A month before General Sherman started 
on the ''March to the Sea" the most for- 
midable Confederate force in that part of 
the South was commanded by General 
Hood. On October 11, General Grant 
said in a dispatch to General Sherman: 
"Does it not look as if Hood was going 
to attempt the invasion of middle Ten- 
nessee? * * * If he does this, he 
ought to be met and prevented from get- 
ting North of the Tennessee Eiver. * * * 
If yon were to cut loose, I do not believe you 
would meet Hood^s Army, but would be 
bushwhacked by all the old men and little 
boys and such railroad guards as are still 
left at home. * * * jjood would prob- 
ably strike for N"ashville. * * * jf there 
is any way of getting at Hood's Army, I 
would prefer that, but I must trust to your 
own judgment. * * * j g^jj^ afraid 
Thomas, with such lines of road as he has 
to protect, could not prevent Hood from 
going North.'' 

General Sherman's reply, dated the same 
day, from Kingston, Georgia, says: 
[54] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"Hood is now on the Coosa Kiver, South of 
Eome. With the twenty-five thousand men, 
and the bold Cavalry he has, he can con- 
stantly break my roads. I would infinitely 
prefer to make a wreck of the road, and of 
the country from Chattanooga to Atlanta, 
including the latter City, send back all my 
wounded and worthless, and with my effect- 
ive Army, move through Georgia, smashing 
things to the sea. * * * Instead of my 
being on the defensive I would be on the 
offensive; instead of guessing at what he 
means to do he would have to guess at my 
plans. The difference in war is full twenty- 
five per cent. I can make Savannah, Charles- 
ton, or the mouth of the Chattahoochee. 
Answer quick, as I know we will not have 
the telegraph long. 

W. T. Sherman^ Major General. 

City Point, Virginia, 
Oct. 11, 1864, 11 :30 P. M. 
Your dispatch of today received. If you 
are satisfied the trip to the sea-coast can be 
made, holding the line of the Tennessee 
[55] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Eiver firmly, you may make it, destrojdng 
all the railroad south of Dalton or Chatta- 
nooga, as you think best. 

U. S. Grant^ Lieutenant-General. 

The original design was to "cut the 
would-be Confederacy in two again," as it 
had been cut once by gaining possession 
of the Mississippi Eiver. General Sherman's 
plan virtually effected this object. General 
Grant, always quick and generous in appre- 
ciation of others, adds: 

"General Sherman's movement from Chat- 
tanooga to Atlanta was prompt, skillful and 
brilliant. The history of his flank move- 
ments and battles during that memorable 
campaign, will ever be read with an interest 
unsurpassed by anything in history." 

Hood succeeded in crossing the Tennessee 
Eiver, but General Thomas was ready for 
him, and disposed of his Army at the battle 
of Nashville, December 15 — a two days battle 
— defeating and driving the Confederates 
from the field in confusion, leaving most of 
their artillery and many thousand prisoners. 
[56] 



The Blue and the Gray 

From the Snd day of December to the 15th, 
General Grant had been urging General 
Thomas to "get husf' with Hood, sending 
one dispatch after another. December 2nd 
he telegraphed: "You can move out of 
Nashville with all your Army and force 
the enemy to retire or fight upon ground 
of your own choosing — You will suffer 
incalculable injury upon your railroads 
if Hood is not speedily disposed of." 
December 5th — "Hood should be attacked 
where he is. Time strengthens him in all 
possibility as much as it does you.'^ De- 
cember 6th — "Attack Hood at once, and wait 
no longer for a remnant of your Cavalry. 
There is great danger of delay resulting in 
a campaign back to the Ohio River." De- 
cember 8th — "Why not attack at once? By 
all means avoid the contingency of a foot race 
to see which, you or Hood, can beat to the 
Ohio. * * * N'ow is one of the finest op- 
portunities ever presented of destroying one 
of the three Armies of the enemy. * * * 
Use the means at your command and you can 
do this, and cause a rejoicing that will re- 
[57] 



The Blue and tlie Gray 

sound from one end of the land to the other/' 
December 11th — "If yon delay attack any 
longer the mortifying spectacle will be wit- 
nessed of a rebel Army moving for the Ohio 
Elver, and yon will be forced to act, accept- 
ing such weather as you find. Let there be 
no further delay. I am in hopes of receiving 
a dispatch from you today announcing that 
you have moved. Delay no longer for weath- 
er or reinforcements.'' 

And so it went on for two weeks. Then 
came action on the part of General Thomas, 
and relief to General Grant, to the Adminis- 
tration, and to the whole North. 

In a dispatch to General Thomas, Decem- 
ber 15th, General Grant says: 

"I was just on my way to Nashville, but 
received a dispatch detailing your splendid 
success of today ; I shall go no further. Push 
the enemy now and give him no rest. * * 
Your Army will cheerfully suffer many pri- 
vations to break up Hood's Army. * * * 
Do not stop for trains or supplies, but take 
them from the country as the enemy have 
done. Much is now expected." 
[58] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Thomas had been so slow as to 
cause very great anxiety. General Grant 
says : "Before the battle of Nashville I grew 
very impatient over, as it appeared to me, 
the unnecessary delay. * * * After urg- 
ing upon General Thomas the necessity of im- 
mediately assuming the offensive, I started 
West to superintend matters there in person. 
Beaching Washington I received G^nerai 
Thomas' dispatch, announcing his attack up- 
on the enemy, and the result as far as the 
battle had progressed. I was delighted. All 
fears and apprehensions were dispelled." 

While General Grant held to his view that 
instead of the delay. General Thomas should 
have promptly moved out with his whole 
force, giving battle to Hood, yet in the end 
General Thomas' final defeat of the Confed- 
erate force was so complete, that it will be 
accepted as a complete vindication of that 
distinguished officer's Judgment. 



[59] 



CHAPTER IV. 

Petersburg — Richmond. 

In the early part of March, 1865, Jef- 
ferson Davis and General Lee decided 
on a plan to abandon the Richmond and 
Petersburg lines, and, as soon as the 
roads would admit. General Lee was to 
move to Danville, unite with General 
Johnston and attack General Sherman. 
Johnston^s army was then in front of Sher- 
man. But when this plan might have been 
carried out, the abandonment of Richmond 
was opposed by the Confederate politicians. 
Another plan of General Lee was to enlist 
the slaves and make soldiers of them. This 
was at once put down by the slave interests 
of the Confederacy. And now the time for 
doing either had passed. By the arrival of 
Sheridan, General Lee's contemplated re- 
treat to Danville was cut off. General Grant 
had settled down before Petersburg and Rich- 
mond, where his steady patience and hold on 
tenacity would enable him to wait until lack 
of subsistence compelled General Lee to sur- 
[60] 




General Sheridan 
1865 



The Blue and the Gray 

render; or his indomitable pluck would lead 
him to attack General Lee and prevent him 
from getting away to join Johnston. Sus- 
pecting General Lee of this intention. Gen- 
eral Grant had, as early as the middle of 
March, issued instructions to the Army of 
the Potomac, in anticipation of a general 
movement, though not fully ready for it un- 
till the last days of the month. Of this ad- 
vance General Grant says: 

"I was very impatient for the time to 
come when I could commence the spring 
campaign, which I thoroughly believed would 
close the war. * * * Qj^q q^ ^j^q most 
anxious periods of my experience during the 
rebellion was the last few weeks before Pe- 
tersburg. * * * J fg][-|. jT^Q^ ii^Q situation 

of the Confederate Army was such that they 
would try to escape at the earliest practicable 
moment, and I was afraid, every morning, 
that I would awake from my sleep to hear 
that Lee had gone and that nothing was left 
but a picket line. * * * j ]jxiew he could 
move much more lightly and more rapidly 
than I, and that, if he got the start, he would 
[61] 



The Blue and the Gray 

leave me behind, so that we would have the 
same Army to fight again further South, and 
the war might be prolonged another year. 
* * * I could not see how it was pos- 
sible for the Confederates to hold out much 
longer where they were. * * * j jjnew 
from the great number of desertions that the 
men who had fought so bravely, so gallantly 
and so long for the cause which they believed 
in — and as earnestly, I take it, as our men 
believed in the cause for which they were 
fighting — ^had lost hope and become despond- 
ent. Many of them were deserting and mak- 
ing application to be sent North, where they 
might get employment until the war was 
over, when they would return to their South- 
ern homes.'^ 

The time had come when General Lee saw 
that he could hold out no longer. Every line 
of supply had been destroyed or cut off by 
the Union troops. He must either surrender 
or fight his way through General Grant^s 
lines, in the hope of reaching Johnston. It 
was a forlorn hope, for even if he succeeded 
in this, the hours of the Confederacy were al- 
[62] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ready numbered and the end would be post- 
poned but a little while. To gain time, in 
order not to leave his present position until 
the roads were in a more favorable condi- 
tion, Greneral Lee ordered the attack on Fort 
Stedman, on the right of the Union lines. 
By this attack he hoped to compel General 
Grant to draw from his left wing, weaken- 
ing that point by concentrating on his right. 
If successful in destroying General Grant's 
left wing it would be easier for General Lee 
to reach the Danville and South Side rail- 
road, making his retreat and reaching 
Johnston, more possible. To accomplish 
this, General Lee placed about half of his 
army under command of General John B. 
Gordon, who was to make the assault on 
Fort Stedman, where the opposing lines were 
less than two hundred yards apart, and the 
pickets but fifty yards apart. The attack 
was well arranged and made on the night of 
the 24th of March, and the next morning, 
about 5 o'clock, the Fort was captured by 
General Gordon's troops. General Gordon 
held Fort Stedman four hours, when it was 
[63] 



The Blue and the Gray 

recaptured by General Hartranft, and this 
attempt of General Lee to break through 
the Union lines was defeated. General 
Grant, seeing indications of increased un- 
easiness in General Lee, determined not to 
delay, and, taking the initiative, ordered the 
move on the 29th of March, from City Point. 
Of the condition of the roads General 
Grant says: "On that date I moved out 
with all the Army available, after leaving 
sufficient force to hold the line about Peters- 
burg. It soon set in raining again, how- 
ever, and in a very short time the roads be- 
came practically impassable for teams and 
almost so for Cavalry. Sometimes a horse 
or mule would be standing apparently on 
firm ground, when all at once one foot would 
sink, and as he commenced scrambling to 
catch himself, all his feet would sink, and 
he would have to be drawn by hand out of 
the quicksands so common in that part of 
Virginia and other Southern states. It be- 
came necessary, therefore, to build corduroy 
roads every foot of the way as we advanced, 
to move our artillery upon. The Army had 
[64] 



The Blue and the Gray 

become so accustomed to this kind of work, 
and were so well prepared for it, that it was 
done very rapidly." 

On the day of his arrival from the Shenan- 
doah General Sheridan went to General 
Grant's headquarters at City Point and re- 
ceived his instructions for the move to com- 
mence on the 29th. Of this General Grant 
says : 

"After reading the instructions I had 
given him, Sheridan walked out of my tent, 
and I followed to have some conversation 
with him by himself, not in the presence of 
anybody else, even a member of my Staff. In 
preparing his instructions, I contemplated 
just what took place; that is to say, cap- 
turing Five Forks, driving the enemy from 
Petersburg and Richmond, and terminating 
the contest before separating from the 
enemy. But the Nation had already become 
restless and discouraged at the prolongation 
of the war, and many believed that it would 
never terminate except by compromise. 
Knowing that unless my plan proved an en- 
tire success it would be interpreted as a dis- 
5 [65] 



The Blue and the Gray 

astrous defeat, I provided in these instruc- 
tions that in a certain event General Sher- 
idan was to cut loose from the Army of the 
Potomac and his base of supplies, and liv- 
ing upon the country, proceed South by the 
way of the Danville railroad, or near it, 
cross the Roanoke, get in the rear of John- 
ston, who was guarding that road, and co- 
operate with Sherman in destroying John- 
ston; then with these combined forces to 
help carry out the instructions which Sher- 
man already had received, to act in co-opera- 
tion with the Armies around Petersburg and 
Richmond. I saw that after Sheridan had 
read his instructions he seemed somewhat 
disappointed at the idea, possibly, of having 
to cut loose again from the Army of the 
Potomac, and place himself between the two 
main Armies of the enemy. I said to him : 
^General, this portion of your instructions I 
have put in merely as a blind,' and gave 
him the reason for doing so, heretofore de- 
scribed. I told him that as a matter of fact, 
I intended to close the war right here, with 
this movement, and that he should go no 
1661 



The Blue and the Gray 

farther. His face at once brightened up, 
and slapping his hand on his leg, he said: 
*I am glad to hear it, and we can do it/ 
* * * Sheridan was not, however, to make 
his movement against Five Forks until he 
got further instructions from me." 

General Grant's plan to, "close the war 
right here," was just what General Sheridan 
wanted and believed would prove the final 
and successful effort. He was so jubilant over 
the prospect of success that, after the move- 
ment had commenced, General Grant says: 

"Sheridan rode up to my headquarters, 
then at Dabney's Mills. He met some of my 
Staff officers outside and was highly jubilant, 
giving reasons why he believed this would 
prove the final and successful effort. Al- 
though my Chief -of -Staff had urged very 
strongly that we return to our position about 
City Point and the lines around Peters- 
burg, he asked Sheridan to come in and see 
me, and say to me what he had been saying 
to them. Sheridan felt a little modest about 
giving advice where it had not been asked, 
so one of my Staff came in and told me that 
[67] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Sheridan had what they considered impor- 
tant news, and suggested that I send for him. 
I did so^, and was glad to see the spirit of 
confidence with which he was imbued. Know- 
ing, as I did from experience, of what great 
value that feeling of confidence by a Com- 
mander was, I determined to make a move- 
ment at once, although on account of the 
rains, which had fallen after I had started 
out, the roads were still very heavy." 

When General Grant moved out from City 
Point on the 29th, General Sheridan in 
co-operation, moved the same day from Han- 
cock Station, where he had gone into camp 
on the 27th, after his march from the Shen- 
andoah, having had but one day to rest his 
troops. 

General Sheridan moved South on the 
Weldon and Petersburg road to Malone's 
crossing, then West to Dinwiddle Court 
House, where he arrived the same afternoon 
about 4 o'clock. According to instructions 
from General Grant, Sheridan was to make 
a raid on the South Side railroad. Late that 
night he received further instructions from 
[68] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Grant who said: "I now feel like 
ending the matter, if it is possible to do so. 
* * * I do not want you, therefore, to cut 
loose and go after the enemy's roads at 
present. In the morning push around the 
enemy if you can and get in his right rear. 
We will act together as one Army here, until 
it is seen what can be done with the enemy." 

The contemplated raid was abandoned, 
and General Sheridan at once prepared to 
act in concert with the Infantry, under Gen- 
eral Grant's command, the object being to 
turn the right flank of General Lee's army. 
On the following morning Sheridan found 
the enemy in strong force on the White Oak 
Eoad, near Five Forks. General Lee, sus- 
pecting Sheridan's designs on the South Side 
railroad, ordered Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry 
from its position on the extreme Confederate 
left, over to Five Forks, to unite with Pick- 
ett's and Bushrod Johnson's Infantry and 
attack Sheridan. 

That General Grant thoroughly appreciated 
the grave situation of Sheridan's position at 
this time, was evident from his frequent 



The Blue and the Gray 

communication with him the whole day of 
the 30th. He at first directed Sheridan to 
send his Cavalry back to Humphrey's Sta- 
tion for forage, sa5dng the rain would pre- 
vent active operations that day. But his 
next communication^ a few hours after, said : 
"Your positions on the White Oak road are 
so important that they should be held, even 
if it prevents sending back any of your Cav- 
alry to Humphrey's Station to be fed," 
and he then adds that fifty wagon loads 
of forage will be sent to Sheridan, and 
increased if necessary. In a third dispatch 
the same day he repeats the instruction not 
to send any Cavalry back to Humphrey's 
Station. In a fourth dispatch, also the same 
day. General Grant said : "If your situation 
in the morning is such as to justify the be- 
lief that you can turn the enemy's right with 
the assistance of a Corps of Infantry, entirely 
detached from the balance of the Army, I 
will so detach the 5th Corps and place the 
whole under your command for operation. 
Let me know as early in the morning as 
[70] 



The Blue and the Gray 

you can your judgment in the matter, and 
I will make the necessary orders." 

General Grant, in his reliance on Sheridan 
at this critical hour, must have felt the 
prophetic force of his own words in their 
electric flash to the Shenandoah six months 
before : "Keep on, and your work will cause 
the fall of Eichmond." 

The battle of Dinwiddle Court House was 
fought the next day, March 31st, by Sheri- 
dan with his three divisions of cavalry 
against the large odds of Fitzhugh Lee^s 
and Rosser's Cavalry, with Picketf s and 
Bushrod Johnson's Infantry. Though de- 
feating the Confederates in this fight by 
driving them back for a time, Sheridan in 
his dispatch to General Grant that evening 
said: "This force is too strong for us. I 
will hold on to Dinwiddle Court House un- 
til I am compelled to leave. Our fighting 
today was all dismounted." 

At 10 P. M. that night General Grant sent 

back this message : "The 5th Corps has been 

ordered to your support. In addition I have 

sent McKenzie's Cavalry. All these forces, 

[71] 



The Blue and the Gray 

except the Cavalry, should reach you by 12 
o'clock tonight. You will assume command 
of the whole force sent to operate with you, 
and use it to the best of your ability to de- 
stroy the force which your command has 
fought so gallantly today." 

The battle of Five Forks fought on the first 
day of April was a continuation of the previ- 
ous day's fighting at Dinwiddle Court House. 
The Confederate troops, in addition to Fitz- 
hugh Lee's and Eosser's Cavalry with Pick- 
ett's and Bushrod Johnson's Infantry, had 
been reinforced by W. H. F. Lee's and Lo- 
mer's Cavalry, the whole commanded by 
Lieut-General Anderson. Sheridan, himself 
in command attacked the Confederate In- 
fantry at daylight and drove them back to 
their strong line of earthworks on the White 
Oak Eoad. It was a daring attack, and 
fought by troops brave to desperation. 
Though expecting his reinforcements every 
moment, Sheridan attacked and held back 
this ver}^ superior force with but three divi- 
sions of Cavalry, until about eleven o'clock, 
when the 5 th Corps, which should have been 
[72] 



The Blue and the Gray 

there at midnight, and McKenzie's Cavalry 
arrived. At four o'clock that afternoon^, 
Sheridan assaulted and carried the Confeder- 
ate works, capturing 6,000 prisoners, many 
pieces of artillery, wagons, etc., and putting 
to flight the rest of the Confederate force. 
Thus was General Lee's last hope of fighting 
his way out irretrievably defeated by General 
Sheridan. It was followed by General 
Grant's assault on Petersburg the next morn- 
ing, Sunday, April 2nd, and then it was that 
General Lee telegraphed to Jefferson Davis 
in Eichmond: 

"My lines are broken in three places. 
Eichmond must be evacuated tonight." 

Mr. Davis was at church when the 
dispatch was handed to him. He quickly 
laid down his prayer book, left the church, 
and went at once to his home, where he is- 
sued an order for the evacuation of Rich- 
mond, and made hasty preparations for leav- 
ing the City. 

That afternoon the President of the Con- 
federacy, Vice-President, and Cabinet, with 
scant preparation, took their departure from 
[73] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Eichmond. At eight o'clock in the evening 
General Ewell, in command, began to move 
the Confederate troops out, first ordering the 
firing of the magazine, which caused great 
destruction of property. The explosion set 
fire to many buildings, and the Court House, 
old State House, Mechanics' Institute, of- 
fices of the newspapers — Enquirer and 
Dispatch — were among the buildings burned. 
Commissary stores were also destroyed, 
heads of whiskey casks were knocked in 
and the liquor poured out on the ground. 
This gave the soldiers free access to the 
liquor and the rear guard of Ewell's army 
staggered, rather than marched out on the 
evacuation of Eichmond that Sunday night. 
The formal surrender of Eichmond was 
made to General Weitzel at 8 o'clock Monday 
morning, April 3rd, about the same hour that 
General Grant took possession of Petersburg. 
General Weitzel went up to Eichmond from 
his position at Bermuda Hundred, and the 
brief ceremony took place in the City Hall. 
Captain Langdon and Lieut, de Peyster, of 
General Weitzel's staff, raised the Stars and 
[74] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Stripes on the Capitol, where, on the 18th of 
March the Confederate Congress had ad- 
journed in great haste, the members leaving 
for their homes, lest they should be prevented 
from going, by the Union forces. 

Lieut, de Peyster, who was a young Artil- 
lery officer, but twenty years of age, had car- 
ried the flag on the pommel of his saddle 
for several days. He was determined to be 
the first to restore the Stars and Stripes to 
their old place on the Capitol in Eichmond. 
When the flag was run up on the pole, there 
was great cheering by the Union troops and 
the colored people. But if there were others 
glad to see the Star Spangled Banner take 
the place held by the Confederate flag for 
four years, they made no sign of it. 

Of the evacuation of Eichmond, General 
Grant says : "A dispatch from General Weit- 
zel notified me that he had taken possession 
of Eichmond. The City had been deserted by 
the authorities, civil and military, without 
any notice whatever that they were about to 
leave. In fact, up to the very hour of the 
evacuation, the people had been led to be- 
[75] 



The Blue and the Gray 

lieve that Lee had gained an important vic- 
tory somewhere around Petersburg. * * * 
The City was on fire. Our troops were di- 
rected to extinguish the flames, which they 
finally succeeded in doing. * * * rpj^^ 
fire had been started by some one con- 
nected with the retreating Army. * * * 
I presume it was the work of excited 
men, who were leaving what they re- 
garded as their Capital, and may have felt 
that it was better to destroy it, than have it 
fall into the hands of the enemy. There was 
evidence of great demoralization in Lee's 
army, there being still many men and even 
officers, in the town." 

When General Grant went into Petersburg 
he telegraphed the President, who had re- 
mained at City Point, to join him there. Of 
this meeting he says: "I had started 
all the troops out early in the morning, 
so that after the National Army left 
Petersburg, there was not a soul to be seen, 
not even an animal to be seen in the streets. 
There was absolutely no one there, except my 
Staff Officers, and, possibly, a small escort of 
[76] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Cavalry. We had selected the piazza of a de- 
serted house, and occupied it until the Presi- 
dent arrived. I would have let him know 
what I contemplated doing, only while I felt 
a strong conviction that the move was going 
to be successful, yet it might not prove so; 
and then I would have only added another 
to the many disappointments he had been suf- 
fering for the past three years. But when we 
started out he saw that we were moving for 
a purpose, and bidding us Godspeed, re- 
mained at City Point to hear the result. 

"About the first thing that Mr. Lincoln said 
to me, after warm congratulations for the vic- 
tory, and thanks both to myself and to the 
Army which had accomplished it, was : *Do 
you know. General, that I have had a sort of 
sneaking idea for some days that you in- 
tended tO' do something like this ?' Our move- 
ments having been successful up to this point, 
I no longer had any object in concealing from 
the President all my movements, * * * 
Mr. Lincoln knew that it had been arraaged 
for Sherman to join me at a fixed time, to co- 
operate in the destruction of Lee^s Army. 
[77] 



The Blue and the Gray 

* * * ^}iQjx our conversation was at an 
end^ he mounted Ms horse and started on his 
return to City Point, while I and my Staff 
started to join the Army, now a good many 
miles in advance." 

General Grant's plan of campaign against 
General Lee suggested the challenge of 
the two Eoman Generals — "If thou are a 
great General, come down and fight me." 
"If thou are a great General, make me come 
down and fight thee/' 

Four times out of five — for the Army of 
the Potomac had fought on five distinct 
lines — Grant, by a single march, had made 
Lee come down and fight him. * * * No 
other plan could have succeeded, or as Sec- 
retary Stanton expressed it — "Gabriel would 
have been blowing his last horn, before the 
old tactics of the Army of the Potomac 
could have forced the surrender of Lee and 
his Army." There were cold and unjust 
criticisms in the North, of General Grant's 
Virginia campaign — but adding greater in- 
terest to the views of Europeans, more espe- 
cially the English, and the press of London. 
[78] 



The Blue and the Gray 

The London Times — the Tory organ of Eng- 
land — could hardly believe in the possibility 
of his success^ but finally said: ^^Grant is 
invincibly obstinate, he has uncontrolled 
command, he has exacted the unreserved 
support of his Government, and he has seen 
the Southern Army retire before him. But 
if he ever reaches Richmond with an Army, 
he will have achieved a miracle of success." 
The reputation of General Lee was so ex- 
alted in England, that any success over him 
was regarded as marvellous. The battles of 
May, 1864, brought forth from the London 
Times this admission: "While a single day 
of the battles of Grant in Virginia could be 
matched or excelled by the record of battles 
in the Old World, there were never in the 
history of man, four such battles fought, as 
those comprised in seven successive days, 
ending with the 12th of May." 



[79] 



The Blue and the Gray 

CHAPTEE V. 

Waterloo of Lee^s Retreat. 

G-eneral Grrant had anticipated correctly 
the movements of Jefferson Davis. About 
the same hour that the flag was raised in 
Richmond, Mr. Davis and his Cabinet passed 
through Burkes ville, going South. General 
Grant left Petersburg at noon, moving out to 
Wilson^s Station, on the Richmond and Dan- 
ville railroad. Burkesville is at the junction 
of this road with the one leading to Lynch- 
burg. At the time Mr. Davis passed through 
Burkesville, Custer's division of Sher- 
idan's Cavalry had an engagement with the 
rear guard of General Lee's Army, capturing 
a large number of men, artillery, battle flags, 
etc. General Grant had instructed Sheridan 
to push round and intercept the Confederates 
at Farmville, as it was supposed General Lee 
would move through that place on his way 
to Danville. But Sheridan did not have to 
go so far out of the way. Jetersville is on the 
Richmond and Danville railroad, about half 
way between Burkesville and Amelia Court 
[80] 




General Lee 
1865 



The Blue and the Gray 

House, where, at the latter place it was at 
first thought General Lee would make a 
stand, and where he did make a brief halt to 
rest his troops. 

From Jetersville, April 4th, General Sheri- 
dan telegraphed General Grant: "The Con- 
federate Army is in my front, three miles 
distant, with all its trains. If the 6th 
Corps can hurry up, we will have suf- 
ficient strength. I will hold my ground 
unless driven from it. * * * Men 
are out of rations and some wagons 
should follow after the 6th Corps. The en- 
emy is moving from Amelia Court House, 
via Jetersville and Burke's Station to Dan- 
ville. Jefferson Davis passed over this rail- 
road yesterday to Danville." 

On the following morning, April 5th, 
Sheridan again telegraphed General Grant: 
"The whole of Lee's Army is at, or near, 
Amelia Court House and on this side of it. 
* * * We can capture the Army of 
Northern Virginia, if force enough can 
be thrown to this point, and then ad- 
vance upon it. * * * General Lee is at 

6 [81] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Amelia Court House in person. They are out, 
or nearly out, of rations. They were advanc- 
ing up the railroad towards Burkesville yes- 
terday when we intercepted them at this 
point." 

General Meade reached Jetersville with the 
2d and 6th Corps that afternoon. On 
the same day General EwelPs command, 
which left Eichmond on Sunday evening, 
reached Amelia Court House, where General 
Anderson's command of Bushrod Johnson's 
and Pickett's infantry, with Fitzhugh Lee's 
Cavalry, had arrived in the morning. General 
Longstreet and General Gordon had arrived 
the day before. At Amelia Court House, 
General Lee obtained rations for part of his 
Army. But his men were already suffering 
from fatigue and want of food. The rains 
had made the roads almost impassable for 
wagon trains. General Meade had been 
obliged to put large working parties on the 
roads for three days, to facilitate the march 
of the Union troops. 

When but three miles from Jetersville, 
General Lee had advanced to attack Sheri- 
[82] 



The Blue and the Gray 

dan's Cavalry. But learning that General 
Sheridan had been reinforced by Infantry, he 
turned North to the bridge over Flat Creek, 
five miles distant. Here he crossed at sun- 
set. He still hoped by a night march to make 
an advance that would enable him to reach 
Lynchburg by way of Farmville. He con- 
tinued his march all night, arriving at Eice's 
Station at daybreak on the morning of April 
6th, where he halted his weary, hungry, dis- 
pirited troops. One can not think of that 
night march of General Lee, and his tired, 
disheartened Army, without seeing a pathos 
and bravery worthy of honest pity and ad- 
miration. General Lee's retreat will be re- 
spected as the last faithful and heroic steps 
of a great soldier, in the discharge of what 
he deemed to be his duty. 

The condition of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, at this stage of General Lee's re- 
treat, can best be seen in the following, writ- 
ten the day preceding his night march : 

Cavalry Headquarters, April 5, 1865. 
Lieut.-General Grant : 

From present indications the retreat of 
[83] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the enemy is rapidly becoming a rout. We are 
shelling their trains and preparing to attack 
their Infantry immediately. Their troops 
are moving on my left flank and I think we 
can break: and disperse them. Everything 
should be hurried forward with the utmost 
speed. If Greneral Ord can be put in below, 
it will probably use them up. 

P. H. Sheridan"^ Major General. 

The pursuit of General Lee's Army was 
now well under way. The excitement of the 
Union troops had become intense, rising to 
a higher pitch as the pursuit lessened the 
distance between them and the Confederate 
Army. Every hour made General Lee's cap- 
ture or surrender more and more a foregone 
conclusion. His Army must go either to Dan- 
ville or Lynchburg. But General Grant's 
movements were such as would cut off re- 
treat no matter which route General Lee 
might take. 

For three, days General Grant had been in 
pursuit, intercepting, harassing and fighting 
General Lee's retreat, and every day making 
[84] 



The Blue and the Gray 

large captures of prisoners, artillery, wagons 
and other army equipments. In the mean- 
time, he had kept the President, who re- 
mained at City Point, informed of his move- 
ments, often telegraphing to Mr. Lincoln, 
who in turn, sent the news to the Secretary 
of War, in Washington. 

On the 5th, General Grant telegraphed to 
General Sherman in North Carolina: "All 
indications now are that General Lee will at- 
tempt to reach Danville with the remnant of 
his force. Sheridan, who was up with him 
last night, reports all that is left, horse, foot 
and dragoons, at about twenty-five thousand, 
much demoralized. I shall push on tO' Burkes- 
ville, and, if a stand is made at Danville, 
will in a very few days go there. If you can 
possibly do so, push on from where you are, 
and let us see if we can not finish the job 
with Lee's and Johnston's Armies. Whether 
it will be better for you to strike for Green- 
boro or nearer to Danville, you will be better 
able to judge when you receive this. Confed- 
erate Armies now are the only strategic 
points to strike at." 

[85] 



The Blue and the Gray 

The morning of the 6th, General Grant 
reached Jetersville, from whence Sheridan 
had pushed on after the Confederates. The 
chase was now so close that General Lee's 
Army was but two hours ahead. The battle 
of Sailor's Creek was fought that afternoon, 
General Sheridan in person commanding, 
against the Confederate force commanded by- 
General Lee. 

It was a great victory. The news was 
flashed all over the North, and at 11 :15 that 
night General Grant repeated the following 
dispatch received from Sheridan, to the Pres- 
ident, at City Point : 

Thursday, April 6, 1865, 11:15 P. M. 
Lieut.-General Grant: 

I have the honor to report that the enemy 
made a stand at the intersection of Burke's 
Station Eoad, with the one upon which they 
were retreating. I attacked them with two 
divisions of the 6th Army Corps, and 
routed them handsomely, making a connec- 
tion with the Cavalry. I am still pressing on 
with both Cavalry and Infantry. Up to the 
[86] 



The Bine and the Gray 

present time we have captured Generals 
Ewell, Kershaw, Button, Corse, Du Barre, 
Hunter and Custis Lee — several thousand 
prisoners, fourteen pieces of artillery, with 
caissons, etc. If the thing is pressed, I think 
General Lee will surrender. 

P. H. Sheridan^ 
Major General Commanding. 

The President telegraphed back to General 
Grant : "Let the thing be pressed." The next 
morning, Mr. Lincoln repeated Sheridan's 
dispatch to the Secretary of War, in Wash- 
ington. 

In March, 1861, General Sheridan was 
thirty years of age, with the rank of Captain. 
April, 1865, he was thirty-four, a Major- 
General, and the youngest of our renowned 
soldiers — in fame surpassed only by two 
others — Grant and Sherman. 

On the 7th, General Grant was at Farm- 
ville, where General Lee spent the previous 
night. The pursuit was renewed at daylight 
and kept up all that day. General Lee mov- 
ing to the Appomattox Eiver and crossing 
[87] 



The Blue and the Gray 

to the ISTorth side on the conunon bridge, at 
High Bridge. His troops were so hotly- 
pressed by the 2nd Corps that they had no 
time to burn the bridge over which their pur- 
suers immediately followed. General Grant 
had sent the Union troops on in three de- 
tachments — one to cross at High Bridge, one 
near Earmville, and the third, making a de- 
tour on the west by Prince Edward Court 
House, to get in front of the Confederates. 
The battle of Sailor^s Creek, was the Water- 
loo of Lee's retreat. 

General Grant was convinced of this, and 
on Friday, the day after that battle, he wrote 
the first note of the correspondence on the 
surrender. 

Headquarters Armies of the U. S. 

5 P. M., April 7, 1865. 
General E. E. Lee, 

Commanding C. S. A. : 
The result of the last week must convince 
you of the hopelessness of further resistance 
on the part of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, in this struggle. I feel that it is so, 
[88] 



The Blue and the Gray 

and regard it as my duty to shift from my- 
self the responsibility of any further effusion 
of blood, by asking of you the surrender of 
that portion of the Confederate States Army, 
known as the Army of Northern Virginia. 
U. S. Grant^ Lieut.-General. 

This note was sent through the picket lines 
to General Lee about 8 o'clock that evening, 
by General Humphreys, in command of the 
2nd Corps, who at the same time author- 
ized a truce of an hour, to allow the Confed- 
erates to carry off their wounded. The op- 
posing troops were only a few hundred yards 
apart. General Lee answered the note that 
evening, and the reply reached General Grant 
the next morning, just before he moved on 
from Farmville. 

April 7, 1865. 
General : 

I have received your note of this date. 
Though not entertaining the opinion you ex- 
press on the hopelessless of further resistance 
on the part of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid use- 
[89] 



The Blue and the Gray 

less effusion of blood, and therefore, before 
considering your proposition, ask the terms 
you will offer on condition of its surrender. 
E. E. Lee^ General. 

Lieut. -General U. S. Grant, 

Commanding Armies of the U. S. 

This was not satisfactory to General Grant, 
who, however, regarded it as deserving an- 
other note, and wrote General Lee as follows : 

April 8, 1865. 
General E. E. Lee, 

Commanding C. S. A. : 

Your note of last evening in reply to mine 
of same date, asking the conditions on which 
I will accept the surrender of the Army of 
Northern Virginia is just received. In reply 
I would say that, peace being my great de- 
sire, there is but one condition I would insist 
upon, namely: That the men and officers 
surrendered be disqualified from taking up 
arms against the Government of the United 
States until properly exchanged. I will meet 
you, or will designate officers to meet any 
officers you may name for the same purpose, 
[90] 



The Bine and the Gray 

at any point agreeable to you, for the pur- 
pose of arranging definitely the terms upon 
which the surrender of the Army of Northern 
Virginia will be received. 

U. S. Grant^ Lieut.-General. 

General Grant, after sending his answer 
to General Lee, moved on, with General 
Meade's column, having first written the fol- 
lowing before starting. 

Headquarters Armies of the U. S. 
Farmville, Va., April 8, 1865. 
To Major General Sheridan: 

Make a detail from your own command to 
go with the ambulances of the 5th Corps, 
to collect in your wounded. I think General 
Lee will surrender to-day. I addressed him 
on the subject last evening and received a 
reply this morning asking the terms I 
wanted. We will push him until terms are 
agreed upon. U. S. Grant^ 

Lieut.-General. 

Of the condition of the Confederates at 
this time General Grant says: "Lee's 
[91] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Army was rapidly cnimbling. Many of his 
soldiers had enlisted from that part of the 
State where they now were, and were con- 
tinually dropping out of the ranks and go- 
ing to their homes. I know that I occupied 
a Hotel almost destitute of furniture, at 
Farmville, which had probably been used as 
a Confederate hospital. The next morning 
when I came out, I found a Confederate Col- 
onel there, who reported to me, and said that 
he was the proprietor of that Hotel, and 
that he was a Colonel of a Eegiment that had 
been raised in that neighborhood. He said 
that when he came along past home, he found 
that he was the only man of the Eegiment re- 
maining with Lee's Army, so he just dropped 
out, and now wanted to surrender himself. I 
told him to stay there, and he would not be 
molested. * * * Although Sheridan had been 
marching all day, his troops moved with 
alacrity and without any straggling. They 
began to see the end of what they had been 
fighting four years for. N'othing seemed to 
fatigue them. They were ready to move 
without rations and travel without rest, until 
[92] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the end. Every man was now a rival for the 
front." 

General Sheridan, with all his Cavalry, had 
marched rapidly on, the same day direct to 
Appomattox Station. At 9 :20 that night he 
said in a dispatch to General Grant: "If 
General Gibbon and the 5th Corps can get 
up to-night, we will perhaps finish the job in 
the morning. I do not think General Lee 
means to surrender until compelled to do so.'^ 

General Sheridan had not yet received Gen- 
eral Grant's note informing him of the cor- 
respondence with General Lee. He had good 
reason to conclude that General Lee would 
not give up, until forced to do so, by actual 
•capture. But the end was nearer than "Little 
Phil" thought, as he soon found when he had 
an opportunity to "finish the job in the 
morning." He was now in the immediate 
vicinity of Appomattox Court House. 

On the evening of the 8th, General Lee, 
who had halted for the night, also near Ap- 
pomattox Court House, called together his 
Corps Commanders, among them Longstreet, 
Gordon, and Fitzhugh Lee^ and explained 
[93] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the situation, informing them of his corre- 
spondence with General Grant. General Gor- 
don and General Fitzhugh Lee were bitterly 
opposed to surrender. They held to the hope 
of making the advance which would yet en- 
able the Confederates to join General John- 
ston in North Carolina. General Lee finally 
consented that Gordon and Fitzhugh Lee 
should attack Sheridan^s Cavalry at daylight 
the next morning, if Sheridan was without 
Infantry. But if Sheridan was supported 
by any considerable force of Infantry, Gen- 
eral Lee was to be immediately notified. 
Though hopeless, it was, nevertheless, the last 
chance to open the way out for further re- 
treat. With this hope in reserve. General 
Lee wrote his second note to General Grant. 

April 8, 1865. 
General : 

I received at a late hour, your note of to- 
day. In mine of yesterday, I did not intend 
to propose the surrender of the Army of 
Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of 
your proposition. To be frank, I do not 
[94] 



The Blue and the Gray 

think the emergency has arisen to call for the 
surrender of this Army; but as the restora- 
tion of peace should be the sole object of all, 
I desire to know whether your proposal would 
lead to that end. I cannot, therefore, meet 
you with a view to surrender the Army of 
Northern Virginia; but, as far as your pro- 
posal may affect the Confederate States forces 
under my command, and tend to the restora- 
tion of peace, I should be pleased to meet 
you at 10 A. M. tomorrow, on the old stage- 
road to Eichmond, between the picket lines 
of the two Armies. 

E. E. Lee^ General. 

Lieut.-General U. S. Grant. 

General Grant received General Lee's reply 
on the march at midnight, and at daylight 
the next morning, returned his answer: 

Headquarters Armies of the TJ. S., 
April 9, 1865. 
General E. E. Lee, 

Commanding C. S. A. : 
Your note of yesterday is received. I have 
[95] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
no authority to treat on the subject of peace; 
the meeting proposed for ten A. M. to-day- 
could lead to no good. I will state, how- 
ever, General, that I am equally anxious for 
peace with yourself, and the whole North en- 
tertains the same feeling. The terms upon 
which peace can be had are well understood. 
By the South laying down their arms they 
will hasten that most desirable event, save 
thousands of human lives, and hundreds of 
millions of property not yet destroyed. Se- 
riously hoping that all our difficulties may 
be settled without the loss of another life, I 
subscribe myself, etc., 

TJ. S. Grant^ Lieutenant-General. 

At Appomattox, Sheridan's Cavalry was 
drawn up in line of battle, stretching across 
the road like a barrier before the advance of 
General Lee's Army. Gordon and Pitzhugh 
Lee, according to the plan of the night be- 
fore, had attacked Sheridan at daylight. But 
the troops of the 5th and 2nd Corps, 
under Gibbon and Ord, at the same moment, 
with wild yells, swept down to the support 
[96] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of Sheridan, and the Confederates fell back 
in confusion, and retired. Though G-eneral 
Gibbon and the 5th Corps did not get up 
the night before as Sheridan expected, they 
were nevertheless in time to "finish the job 
in the morning." 

Shortly after, a white flag was seen at the 
Confederate Front, and a few moments later 
General Sheridan and General Gordon, both 
on horseback, met near the Court House. 
General Gordon asked for a suspension of 
hostilities in view of the correspondence on 
the surrender. But as he had attacked Gen- 
eral Sheridan an hour before, for the pur- 
pose of escape, Sheridan insisted on some as- 
surance of good faith. General Longstreet 
joined them and corroborated General Gor- 
don's statement that General Lee was about 
to surrender. • 

General Lee was at that moment writing 
the following reply to General Grant's note, 
and within the sound of the guns at Appo- 
mattox, where he knew the last spark of 
hope had vanished in the defeat of Gordon 
7 [97] 



The Blue and the Gray 

and Fitzhugh Lee's attempt to break through 
the Union lines : 

April 9, 1865. 
General : 

I received yours of this morning on the 
picket line, whither I had come to meet you 
and ascertain definitely what terms were em- 
braced in your proposal of yesterday, with 
reference to the surrender of this Army. I 
now ask an interview in accordance with the 
offer contained in your letter of yesterday for 
that purpose. 

E. E. Lee, General. 

Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant, 

Commanding U. S. Armies. 

This was written at 9 o'clock in the morn- 
ing and delivered to General Grant two hours 
later on the road, about eight miles from Ap- 
pomattox Court House. Leaving General 
Meade's colunm early in the morning, Gen- 
eral Grant and Staff had taken a short cut 
on the cross-road to Appomattox Eiver, which 
they forded near Planter's Tavern, there 
striking the Farmville and Lynchburg road 
[98] 



The Blue and the Gray 

over which Ord's troops had passed a little 
while before. General Lee's note was senS 
through Sheridan's lines, and when Lieut 
Pease, the bearer of the note, reached Gen- 
eral Grant, he found him sitting on a log by 
the side of the road, where, with his Staff, 
he had dismounted to rest. General Eawlins 
and General Dent were also seated on the 
log and the other officers of his Staff were 
resting on the ground, eating from the sup- 
plies carried on the saddle. Their uniforms 
were travel soiled and bespattered with mud 
from the "sacred soil," and the brass buttons 
were no longer bright. Altogether they 
showed the hardships of practical soldiering. 

General Grant writes of suffering with 
sick headache for two days, stopping at a 
farm house the night before, trying various 
remedies for relief. He says: 

"When the officer reached me I was still 
suffering with the sick headache. But the 
instant I saw the contents of the note, I was 
cured." 

He at once got up, quietly remarked, "This 
[99] 



The Blue and the Gray 

means surrender," and wrote the following 
reply : 

April9, 1865, 11:50 A. M. 

General E. E. Lee, 

Commanding C. S. Armies: 
Your note of this date is but this moment 
received, in consequence of my having passed 
from the Eichmond and Lynchburg road to 
the Farmville and Lynchburg road. I am 
at this writing about four miles West of 
Walker's Church, and will push forward to 
the Front for the purpose of meeting you. 
Notice sent to me on this road where you 
wish the interview to take place will meet me. 
U. S. Grant^ Lieutenant-General. 

Then mounting his horse and followed by 
his staff, he rode directly on to Appomattox 
Court House, where General Lee's Army lay 
waiting — and where the Union troops, still 
in line of battle, stretched across the path of 
the Confederates, their glistening bayonets 
shining like a hedge of silver in the Sabbath 
sunshine. 

[100] 





-^€i^E 




!w»i^^ 


^n 


^mSi^^^^W 




p^im^»~~ 



"Surrender House" 
1865 



CHAPTER VI. 
Appomattox — Surrendek. 

The surrender took place in the house of 
Wilber McLean, who lived near the Court 
House, and had tendered his "best room" 
for the purpose. It was a two story house, 
with a veranda across the front, supported 
by columns which gave it a solid appearance, 
and fashioned like most Southern houses, 
with a broad hall through the center. The 
yard was enclosed by a picket fence and 
shaded with trees, and the April air was 
sweet with the scent of apple blossoms. 

At one o'clock, in the room on the left of 
the hall, the two great leaders of the Army 
of the Union and the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia met, and shaking hands, seemed in 
that moment to span the breach opened be- 
tween the North and South by four years of 
strife and bloodshed. 

General Grant was on the eve of his forty- 
third birthday, which occurred a little over 
two weeks later. His rugged physique, power 
[101] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of endurance, and fair complexion, gave 
him the appearance of a younger man. Gen- 
eral Lee, was about sixteen years older than 
General Grant and a well preserved, hand- 
some man, of fine military bearing. The 
contrast in the two men was striking in more 
respects than one. General Lee^s uniform 
was new and bright, as if put on for the first 
time, and his white gauntlet gloves as fresh 
and spotless as if just taken from the box. 
General Grant, who was at no time precise 
in dress, had come in direct from the saddle. 
His loose, open coat was travel worn and 
shabby with hard service. He wore his col- 
lar turned down and was without his sword, 
having left that with his Orderly, who did 
not get in until some time after. Altogether 
the Union General was as roughly dressed 
as any soldier in the ranks. The contrast 
was not more marked in personal make-up 
and dress, than in manner — the one imper- 
turbable and diffident to shyness; the other 
having the inborn, self-contained presence 
of a man of the world united with the suavity 
and grace, typical of the cultured Southerner. 
[102] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Grant says : "I had Imown Gen- 
eral Lee in the old Army, and had served 
with him in the Mexican War, but did not 
suppose, owing to the difference in onr age 
and rank, that he would remember me. * * * 
When I left camp that morning I had not 
expected so soon the result that was then 
taking place and was in rough garb. I was 
without a sword, as I usually was when on 
horseback in the field, and wore a soldier's 
blouse for a coat, with the shoulder straps 
of my rank to indicate to the Army who I 
was. * * * Greneral Lee was dressed in 
full uniform, which was entirely new, and 
wearing a sword of considerable value, very 
likely the sword which had been presented 
by the State of Virginia. * * * j must 
have contrasted very strangely with a man 
so handsomely dressed, six feet high, and of 
faultless form. But this was not a matter 
that I thought of until afterward.^' 

In regard to General Lee's feelings Gen- 
eral Grant further says: 

"What General Lee's feelings were I do 
not know. He was a man of much dignity, 
[103] 



The Blue and the Gray 

with an impassible face. * * * j^ ^^^g 
not possible to say whether he felt inwardly- 
glad that the end had finally come, or felt 
sad over the result, and was too manly to 
show it. * * * My own feelings, which 
had been jubilant on the receipt of his let- 
ter, were sad and depressed. I felt like any- 
thing rather than rejoicing at the downfall 
of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, 
and had suffered so much for a cause, though 
that cause was, I believe, one of the worst 
for which a people ever fought. I do not 
question, however, the sincerity of the great 
mass of those who were opposed to us." 

General Sheridan had come over from his 
headquarters with General Grant. General 
John A. Eawlins, General Frederick T. 
Dent, General Adam Badeau, General 
Orville E. Babcock, General Horace Por- 
ter, Colonel Eli Parker, Captain Robert 
T. Lincoln, officers of General Grant's staff, 
and General James Longstreet, General John 
B. Gordon, General Fitzhugh Lee and Col- 
onel Marshall, of General Lee's staff, were 
[104] 



The Blue and the Gray 

present. Later, other officers on both sides, 
came in. 

After the first greeting of the leaders, 
each recalled his remembrance of the other 
when they were comrades in arms during 
the war with Mexico, about eighteen years 
before. 

"I hardly expected you to remember me, 
General. I was only a young Captain in 
command of a company then,^^ said General 
Grant. "But, of course, I remember you, 
and recall your rank as superior to mine, 
also that you were Chief-of-Staff of General 
Scott." 

"Oh, yes," replied General Lee, "I re- 
member you very well. Though not person- 
ally acquainted, I assure you I remember 
Captain Grant and what he was as a soldier 
then." General Lee's tone implied much 
more than his words, in his recollection of 
Captain Grant's service in that war, and 
plainly conveyed the honest compliment in- 
tended. There was a pleasant ten minutes' 
conversation, and General Grant says: "I 
almost forgot the object of our meeting. 
[105] 



The Blue and the Gray 

* * * General Lee called my attention 
to the object of our meeting, * * * then 
we gradually fell off again into conversation." 

G-eneral Lee referred to the terms of the 
surrender, suggesting they be written out, 
and General Grant, saying they would be 
substantially the same as mentioned in his 
note of the previous da}^, stepped over to a 
small table at the side of the room, sat 
down, and wrote the following terms of 
surrender : 

Appomattox C. H., Va., 

April 9th, 1865. 
Gen. E. E. Lee, 

Comd^g C. S. A. 

General: In accordance with the sub- 
stance of my letter to you of the 8th instant, 
I propose to receive the surrender of the 
Army of N". Virginia on the following terms, 
to-wit : Eolls of all the officers and men to be 
made in duplicate, one copy to be given to 
an officer to be designated by me, the other 
to be retained by such officer or officers 
as you may designate. The officers to give 
[106] 



The Blue and the Gray 

their individual paroles not to take up arms 
against the Government of the United States 
until properly exchanged, and each compan;^ 
or regimental commander sign a like parole 
for the men of their commands. The arms, 
artillery and public property to be parked 
and stacked and turned over to the officers 
appointed by me to receive them. This will 
not embrace the side arms of officers, nor 
their private horses or baggage. This done, 
each officer and man will be allowed to re- 
turn to their homes, not to be disturbed by 
United States authority, so long as they 
observe their paroles and the laws in force 
where they may reside. 

Very respectfully, 

U. S. Grant, Lt.-Gen. 
In the meantime General Lee had taken 
a chair near a table in the center of the 
room. General Grant rose as he finished 
writing and handing the terms to General 
Lee, took a chair near and facing him. Gen- 
eral Lee read the note silently, moving a 
little to let the light fall directly upon the 
writing. Then he turned round to the table, 
[107] 



The Blue and the Gray 

wrote the following note of acceptance, and 
handed it to General Grant: 

Headquarters, Army Northern Virginia. 

April 9, 1865. 
General: I received your letter of this 
date containing the terms of the surrender 
of the Army of Northern Virginia, as pro- 
posed by you. As they are substantially the 
same as those expressed in your letter of the 
8th inst., they are accepted. I will proceed 
to designate the proper officers to carry the 
stipulations into effect. 

E. E. Lee^ General. 
Lieut.-General U. S. Grant. 

At this supreme moment of the surrender, 
consummated in the silent reading of the 
terms by General Lee, and the silent reading 
of his acceptance by General Grant, not a 
word was spoken. 

General Eawlins and General Dent stood 
behind General Grant, each with a hand rest- 
ing on the back of their chief's chair, and 
looking over his head at the face of the Con- 
[108] 



The Blue and the Gray 

federate General. Colonel Marshall stood 
near General Lee, with his right hand on the 
back of that officer's chair. At Marshall's 
right stood General Babcock, and a few feet 
from him were General Seth Williams and 
Colonel Parker, staading with the side table 
between them. All were looking intently at 
the two stars in this dramatic scene, and the 
dark face of the Indiaa, Colonel Parker, was 
fiercely expressive in its scowling brows and 
piercing black eyes. 

General Sheridan, whose command still 
remained in line of battle, had gone out a 
few moments before. 

When General Lee handed to General 
GraQt his note of acceptance for the latter 
to read, General Dent took a step nearer to 
General Eawlins and whispered — "Eawlins, 
this is historic." Then going back noiseless- 
ly to the fire-place, General Dent took from 
the mantel what he thought was a piece of 
paper, but what was in fact a torn bit of 
a pasteboard box, and with a pencil, hastily 
sketched the positions of the persons in the 
room. General Lee was the first to break 
[109] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the silence^ by referring to the very liberal 
terms, which gave to his officers their horses, 
and which was not mentioned in General 
Grant's note of the 8th. 

"Yes, General, you will want all your 
horses, and the terms are to include the 
horses belonging to your men also,'' said Gen- 
eral Grant. "They will need them when they 
go home, in plowing and putting in their 
crops." 

General Lee had not expected this, and he 
thanked General Grant with much feeling, 
saying that it would have a happy effect upon 
his Army. 

Then General Grant added: "I will have 
two copies made of these papers, one for you, 
and one for me. Colonel Marshall and 
Colonel Parker can copy them now, and we 
will sign them." Colonel Marshall and 
Colonel Parker sat down at the side table, 
the former making two copies of General 
Lee's note, and Colonel Parker making two 
of General Grant's. They were then read 
aloud. General Grant holding the original of 
his terms, and General Lee holding the 
[110] 



The Blue and the Gray 

original of his acceptance, while Marshall 
and Parker read from the copies. The sig- 
natures were immediately affixed, at the same 
time, each using a separate pen. While the 
papers were being copied, General Sheridan 
returned, and General Ord, Quartermaster 
General Eufus Ingalls, Commissary General 
Morgan, with other Union officers, came in, 
and were also present during the reading 
and signing of the papers. The pens used 
in the signatures to the official copies were 
retained as mementoes by Parker and Mar- 
shall. The table was afterwards purchased 
from Mr. McLean by General Sheridan, who 
presented it to Mrs. Custer, wife of General 
Custer. 

This was the surrender of the Army of 
Northern Virginia on Sunday, the 9th of 
April, 1865, and just one week after General 
Lee began his retreat from Petersburg and 
Eichmond. The terms were offered and ac- 
cepted without discussion or change, and the 
brief, business-like, but impressive ceremony 
occupied less than one hour's time. 

General Grant says : "When I put my pen 
[1111 



The Blue and the Gray- 
to the paper I did not know the first word 
that I should make use of in writing the 
terms. I only knew what was in my mind, 
and I wished to express it clearly, so that 
there could be no mistaking it. As I wrote 
on, the thought occurred to me that the of- 
ficers had their own private horses and ef- 
fects, which were important to them, but of 
no value to us ; also that it would be an un- 
necessary humiliation to call upon them to 
deliver their side arms. 

"]^o conversation, not one word, passed 
between General Lee and myself, either about 
private property, side arms or kindred sub- 
jects. * * * rjy-j^Q much talked of sur- 
rendering of Lee's sword, and my handing 
it back, is the purest romance. The word 
sword or side arms was not mentioned by 
either of us until I wrote it in the terms. 
There was no premeditation, and it did not 
occur to me until the moment I wrote it 
down. If I had happened to omit it, and 
General Lee had called my attention to it, I 
should have put it in the terms precisely as 
[112] 



The Blue and the Gray 

I acceded to the provision about the soldiers 
retaining their horses." 

The surrender of his Army was necessarily 
a painful ordeal to General Lee. But no 
man in the room had so little the air of a 
conqueror as General Grant, who, as he laid 
down his pen, turned to General Lee and 
asked in his quiet, matter-of-fact way: 

"How are you off for rations, General?" 

"Pretty badly off. I expected to get some 
supplies here, but was disappointed," Gen- 
eral Lee replied, looking over to General 
Sheridan, who immediately said: 

"Yes, General, we got in ahead of you last 
night and helped ourselves to your supplies 
at the station, without waiting for permis- 
sion." 

Every one laughed at General Sheridan 
for owning up so promptly to his capture of 
General Lee^s supplies. When the laugh sub- 
sided, General Grant said: 

"General Sheridan, can you let General 
Lee have the rations he needs ?" 

General Sheridan replied in the affirma- 

8 [113] 



The Blue and the Gray 

tive^ adding : "You know I'm always pretty 
well supplied. General." 

"General Ingalls, when can you have the 
railroad repaired to get up supplies?'' asked 
General Grant of his Quartermaster General. 

"At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, Gen- 
eral, and the supplies can be up in an hour 
or two." 

"Very well. General Morgan," addressing 
the Commissary General, "you will please 
send forward to Appomattox in the morning, 
two hundred thousand rations and furnish 
General Lee with what he needs for his 
troops. We shall also want some for our- 
selves," said General Grant. 

The bravest men are always most generous. 
The victorious soldier, in these thoughtful, 
considerate words, had turned attention to 
the common duty of providing for the two 
Armies, and thus relieved the vanquished 
leader from the embarrassment of his posi- 
tion. This at once gave a social atmosphere 
to the occasion, and General Lee said to 
General Grant: 

"General, my officers wish to come in and 
[114] 



The Blue and the Gray 

pay their respects to you^ if you will receive 
them/' 

"Certainly, General, I shall be happy to 
see them. And you have hosts of old friends 
here, who will be glad to meet you again," 
replied General Grant. 

The veranda was by this time crowded 
with officers of the two Armies, Those of 
General Grant^s staff were first presented to 
General Lee, whom few of them had ever 
seen. Naturally there was the same curiosity 
on their part to see the Confederate leader, 
that the Confederate officers had to see Gen- 
eral Grant. Captain Eobert T. Lincoln, 
speaking of it many years afterward, said : 

"I remember that I, for one, was curious to 
see General Lee. When we went in from the 
veranda looking pretty rough and feeling 
awfully tired from our week's march, wind- 
ing up with the ride from daylight until 
nearly one o'clock that day, I remember well 
the impression made upon me by General 
Lee's fine figure in his brilliant uniform of 
gray and gold. There hadn't been much 
ceremony among ^us fellows' outside and I 
[115] 



The Blue and the Gray 

thought the introduction quite formal. As 
the youngest officer with General Grant and 
lowest in rank, I was at the end of his Staff, 
and probably was more impressed by Gen- 
eral Lee^s appearance than the others. At 
any rate, that part of the scene always comes 
to my mind more vividly than anything else. 
There were fifteen on our Staff and General 
Lee had fourteen on his, so the Staff officers 
filled up the room, and a good many soon 
went back to the veranda, where it was 
cooler and less crowded. After it was over, 
I remember that I went off and slept the 
rest of the afternoon. We didn't realize our 
fatigue until the business was finished.'' 

General Dent, also many years after, in 
Washington, in an interview, called to 
mind the hand shaking among officers out- 
side, where, not only the veranda but the 
little yard, was the scene of rejoicing, re- 
newing of old friendships, and mingling of 
the blue and gray uniforms. Foes but a few 
hours ago, they were now friends, and in the 
reaction of relief and joy, officers, regardless 
of rank, were as hilarious as school boys and 
[116] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
were "hail fellow, well mef ' with, their jokes 
and jests. "That enemy, whose manhood, 
however mistaken the cause, drew forth such 
herculean deeds of valor," as General Grant 
had said, now gladly joined with the vic- 
torious adversary in mutual acknowledg- 
ment of having, "had fighting enough." 

General Dent said: 

"I guess we all had as much fighting as 
we wanted. I remembetr, after the first 
excitement of handshaking, I seized a tele- 
graph operator and sent the news to my 
wife in New Jersey, without stopping to 
think whether I had a right to do it or not. 
The Secretary of War held the dispatch back 
until he got General Grant's official telegram 
announcing the surrender^ then he forward- 
ed mine to Mrs. Dent. Of course the Secre- 
tary was right. But I was so glad that I 
didn't think of anything except that the 
thing was over, and I wanted my wife to 
know it at once." 

After the details for paroling the Con- 
federate troops had been completed. General 
Grant says: "Lee and I then separated as 
[117] 



The Blue and the Gray 

cordially as we had met, he returning to his 
own lines, and all went into bivouac for the 
night at Appomattox. Soon after Lee's de- 
parture I telegraphed to Washington as fol- 
lows: 

Headquarters, Appomattox C. H., Ya., 

April 9th, 1865,4:30 P. M. 
Hon. E. M. Stanton, 

Secretary of War, 
Washington. 
General Lee surrendered the Army of 
Northern Virginia this afternoon on terms 
proposed by myself. The accompanying ad- 
ditional correspondence will show the con- 
ditions fully. 

IT. S. GrRANT^ Lieut.-General. 

General Grant then adds: "When the 
news of the surrender first reached our lines, 
our men commenced firing a salute of a hun- 
dred guns in honor of the victory. I at once 
sent word, however, to have it stopped. The 
Confederates were now our prisoners, and we 
did not want to exult over their downfall." 

The following morning General Grant and 
[118] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Lee met for the last time. Of this 
meeting General Grant says: "I thought I 
would like to see General Lee again; so I 
rode out beyond our lines toward his head- 
quarters^ preceded by a bugler and a staff 
oJ0Qcer carrying a white flag. Lee soon mount- 
ed his horse, seeing who it was, and met me. 
We had there, between the lines, sitting on 
horseback, a very pleasant conversation of 
over half an hour, in the course of which Lee 
said to me that the South was a big country 
and that we might have to march over it 
three or four times before the war entirely 
ended, but that we would now be able to do 
it, as they could no longer resist us. He 
expressed it as his earnest hope, however, 
that we would not be called upon to cause 
more loss and sacrifice of life. * * * j 
then suggested to General Lee that there was 
not a man in the Confederacy whose influ- 
ence with the soldiery and the whole people 
was as great as his, and that if he would now 
advise the surrender of all the Armies, I had 
no doubt his advice would be followed with 
alacrity/' 

[119] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Grant's management of the Union 
troops in the pursuit had thrown them 
around General Lee's retreating forces in 
almost a complete circle, and General Lee, 
looking down upon his encompassed Army, 
admitted the hopelessness of retreat. He 
calmly talked over the situation and declared 
the rebellion virtually ended. When they 
parted, there was no definite promise on the 
part of General Lee, who said he could not 
do so without consulting the President of 
the Confederacy. 

Of this last meeting with General Lee, 
General Grant further says : "My Staff and 
other officers seemed to have a great desire 
to go inside the Confederate lines. They 
finally asked permission of Lee to do so for 
the purpose of seeing some of their old Army 
friends, and the permission was given. They 
went over, had a very pleasant time with 
their old friends and brought some of them 
back with them. * * * At the house of 
Mr. McLean, officers of both Armies came in 
great numbers and seemed to enjoy the meet- 
ing as much as though they had been sepa- 
[120] 



The Blue and the Gray 

rated for a long time, while fighting hattles 
under the same flag." 

When General Grant went back to the Mc- 
Lean house, General Lee returned to his lines 
and read his farewell address to the Confed- 
erate troops: 

Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia. 
April 10, 1865. 

After four years of arduous service, marked 
by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the 
Army of Northern Virginia has been com- 
pelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and 
resources. I need not tell the survivors of 
so many hard fought battles, who have re- 
mained steadfast to the last, that I have con- 
sented to this result from no distrust of 
them, but feeling that valor and devotion 
could accomplish nothing that could com- 
pensate for the loss that would have attended 
the continuation of the contest, I have de- 
termined to avoid the needless sacrifice of 
those whose past sacrifices have endeared 
them to their countrymen. With an increas- 
ing admiration of your constancy and grate- 
[121] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ful remembrance of your kind and generous 
consideration of myself, I bid you an af- 
fectionate farewell. 

E. E. Lee^ G-eneral. 

General Gribbon, General Merritt and Gen- 
eral Griffin were designated by General Grant 
to carry into effect the paroling of the Con- 
federate soldiers; and General Longstreet, 
General Gordon and General Pemberton, 
named by General Lee to confer and facili- 
tate the work. This completed, the Army of 
the Union and the Army of the Confederacy 
turned their backs on each other for the first 
time in four long years. Charges were with- 
drawn from the guns, camp fires left to 
smoulder in their ashes, flags furled — ^his- 
toric banners, battle stained reminders of 
their former selves — officers and men stacked 
their arms, were disbanded, and set out for 
their homes. 

General Grant writes of the small num- 
ber, only 28,356 officers and men left of the 
Army of ISTorthern Virginia, to be paroled. 
* * * He says: "After the fall of Petersburg, 
and when the Armies of the Potomac and the 
[122] 




General Longstreet 
1865 



The Blue and the Gray 

James were in motion to head off Lee's 
Army, the morale of our troops had greatly 
improved. There was no more straggling, 
no more rear guards. Men, who in former 
times had been falling back, were now striv- 
ing to get to the front. For the first time 
in four weary years they felt that they were 
now nearing the time when they could re- 
turn to their homes with their Country saved. 
On the other hand, the Confederates were 
more than correspondingly depressed. Their 
despondency increased with each returning 
day, and especially after the battle of Sailor's 
Creek. They threw away their arms in con- 
stantly increasing numbers, and djropped 
out of the ranks in the hope of reaching their 
homes. I have already instanced the case 
of the entire disintegration of a Regiment 
whose Colonel I met at Farmville. As a re- 
sult of these and other influences, when Gen- 
eral Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox 
there were only 38,356 officers and men left 
to be paroled, and many of these were with- 
out arms." 

The official records show that during the 
[123] 



The Blue and the Gray 

two weeks between the forward move of the 
Union troops, March 29, and the surrender, 
April 9— about 20,000 of General Lee's 
troops were captured — to say nothing of the 
killed, wounded and missing during "the 
desperate conflicts which marked his deter- 
mined flight." 

At the Surrender, General Lee himself 
frankly stated that his Army was in bad con- 
dition for want of food, and said that his 
men had been living for some days on 
parched corn, exclusively. When asked about 
the number in need of rations, his answer 
was, "About twenty-five thousand," proving 
beyond question that he was well aware of 
the condition and depletion of the Army of 
Northern Virginia, and especially of the 
rapidly thinning ranks by capture and deser- 
tion after the fall of Petersburg. 

Two days after the Surrender, General 
Grant went to Washington, and the same 
day General Lee went to Eichmond, where 
his family had remained. He had sent a 
message to Mrs. Lee to leave the City when 
it was evacuated, probably feeling that the 
[124] 



The Blue and the Gray 

President of the Confederacy would aid Mrs. 
Lee in going. But he did not. Both the 
President and Vice-President of the Confed- 
eracy looked out for their own safety, while 
General Lee was yet fighting to keep life in 
their expiring Government. Mrs. Lee re- 
mained in Eichmond and the buildings fired 
by the Confederate soldiers burned around 
her home, the explosion of a magazine near 
by causing imminent danger. 

When the Union troops took possession of 
Eichmond there was no further danger; 
and when General Lee returned to his own 
house he found his family and home pro- 
tected by a Union Sentry pacing before the 
door. 

From the portico of the White House, 
among the last words of President Lincoln 
to a rejoicing people were : "No part of the 
honor for plan or execution is mine. To 
General Grant, his skillful officers and brave 
men, all belongs.^' 



[125] 



CHAPTER VII. 

Sherman — Johnston. 

Donelson to Appomattox is a long stretch, 
covering three years of terrible war — ^bnt the 
end close at hand with the surrender' of 
Johnston in ]^orth Carolina. And then, the 
loyalty and devotion of General Sherman is 
returned two-fold by General Grant. 

Misrepresentation of facts, the feeling of 
the people stunned by the death of Mr. Lin- 
coln, uncertain course of the new President, 
all led to doubt and distrust of General 
Sherman, and alarm as to his authority to 
make such terms as he did for the surrender 
of Johnston's Army — though General Grant 
says, the terms were only agreed to condi- 
tionally, because there was both a political 
and a military question in the terms, and 
therefore they would have to be approved by 
the Administration in Washington. 

On the 27th of March, two days after the 
President's arrival at City Point, there was a 
meeting of General Sherman, General Sheri- 
dan, Admiral Porter, and the President to 
[126] 



The Blue and the Gray 

confer with General Grant about the final 
movement of the Army. All knew that, 
about the 2nd of February, the President 
had met Peace Commissioners from the so- 
called Confederate States, at Hampton 
Koads, and what he had said to them. Be- 
fore there could be any negotiations for 
peace, they would have to agree to two 
points — "one, that the Union as a whole 
should be preserved; the other, that slavery 
should be abolished." If these two points 
were conceded, Mr. Lincoln said he was "al- 
most ready to sign his name to a blank piece 
of paper and permit them to fill out the bal- 
ance of the terms upon which we would live 
together." 

It is not strange, therefore, that General 
Sherman, when making terms for the sur- 
render of Johnston, should be influenced 
more or less by Mr. Lincoln's attitude of 
magnanimity toward the South. Emanci- 
pation had abolished slavery. General Sher- 
man had just heard of Lee's surrender, and 
believed the end was at hand that would save 
the Union — ^the two points above everything 
[127] 



The Blue and the Gray 

else, far which Mr. Lincoln had prayed, 
planned and worked. General Sherman^s 
correspondence with General Johnston for 
the surrender was opened on the 14th of 
April — ^the day after he received news of 
General Lee^s surrender, and the basis for 
peace was sent to Washington for approval, 
before he knew of the assassination of the 
President. 

General Grant says: 

"Sherman thought, no doubt, in adding 
to the terms that I had made with General 
Lee, that he was but carrying out the wishes 
of the President of the United States. But 
seeing that he was going beyond his authori- 
ty, he made it a point that the terms were 
only conditional. They signed them with 
this understanding, and agreed to a truce 
until the terms could be sent to Wasliing- 
ton for approval. If approved by the proper 
authorities there, they would then be final. 
If not approved, then Sherman would give 
due notice before resuming hostilities. 

"Some days after my return to Washing- 
ton, President Johnson and the Secretary 
[128] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of War received the terms which General 
Sherman had forwarded for approval, a Cab- 
inet meeting was immediately called, and I 
was sent for. There seemed to be the great- 
est consternation lest Sherman would com- 
mit the Government to terms which they 
were not willing to accede to> and which he 
had no right to make. A message went out 
directing the troops in the South not to 
obey General Sherman. I was ordered to 
proceed at once to North Carolina and take 
charge of matters there myself. Of course 
I started without delay, and went to Ealeigh, 
where Sherman was, as quietly as possible, 
hoping to see him without even his Army 
learning of my presence. 

"When I arrived I went to Sherman^s 
Headquarters, and we were at once closeted 
together. I showed him the instructions 
and orders under which I visited him. I 
told him that I wanted him to notify Gen- 
eral Johnston that the terms which they had 
conditionally agreed upon, had not been ap- 
proved in Washington, and that he was au- 
thorized to offer the same terms I had given 
9 [129] 



The Blue and the Gray 

General Lee. I sent Sherman tO' do this 
himself. I did not wish the knowledge of 
my presence to be known to the Army gen- 
erally, so I left it to Sherman to negotiate 
the terms of the surrender solely by him- 
self, and without the enemy knowing that I 
was anywhere near the field. As soon as 
possible, I started to get away, to leave Sher- 
man quite free and untrammelled. 

"At Goldsboro, on my way back, I met a 
mail containing the last newspapers, and I 
found in them indications of great excite- 
ment in the l^orth over the terms Sherman 
had given Johnston, and harsh orders that 
had been promulgated by President Johnson 
and the Secretary of War. I knew that 
Sherman must see these papers, and I fully 
realized what great indignation they would 
cause him, though I do not think his feel- 
ings could have been more excited than were 
my own. But like the true and loyal soldier 
that he was, he carried out the instructions 
I had given him, obtained the surrender of 
Johnston's Army, and settled down in his 
Camp about Raleigh, to await final orders." 
[130] 



The Blue and the Gray 

On the 26th of April, the day after Gen- 
eral Grant had gone away quietly and nn- 
observed, General Johnston and his Army 
of 89,270 men with all equipments surren- 
dered to General Sherman, who had 60,000 
men. Probably not a dozen Union soldiers 
knew of General Grant's visit, and all be- 
lieved as they had a right to believe, that 
with their Commander, they had "fought 
the good fight" for the Union, and now had 
won the victory. And, General Grant made 
this belief not a theory, but a fact, when he 
telegraphed to the Administration in Wash- 
ington — "Johnston has surrendered to Sher- 
man.'^ 

Is there a similar instance in the records 
of our Civil War, or aay war, of a senior 
officer ready to waive rank and independent 
comimand, tO' give his service and helpful 
encouragement to a Commander of less rank 
■ — comparatively unknown — as Sherman did 
at Donelson? Is there a similar instance of 
a Commander of all the Armies having with- 
in his hand a second surrender, adding to 
the fame of Appomattox, quietly turning 
[131] 



The Blue and the Gray 

away and leaving the triumph and praise to 
the other man, as Grant did at Ealeigh? 
Oh, 1^0. Halleck, McClellan, Hooker, Burn- 
side, Buell, were all conspicuous Command- 
ers. But all would have taken "council of 
ambition," and no one of them would have 
done anything like it. 

When General Grant was preparing to go 
to Washington to receive his Commission of 
Lieutenant- General from the hand of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, he wrote to General Sherman, 
with his Army then near Memphis: 

"I start in the morning. * * * But I 
shall say very distinctly on my arrival there, 
that I shall accept no appointment which 
will require me to make that City my head- 
quarters. * * * While I have been 
eminently successful in this war, in at least 
gaining the confidence of the public, no one 
feels more than I, how much of this suc- 
cess is due to the energy, skill, and the har- 
monious putting forth of that energy, and 
skill, of those whom it has been my good 
fortune to have occupying subordinate posi- 
tions under me. * * * But what I want, 
[132] 



The Blue and the Gray 

is to express my thanks to you and McPher- 
son as the men to whom, above all others,, I 
feel indebted for whatever I have had of 
success. How far your advice and sugges- 
tions have been of assistance you know. 
How far your execution of whatever has 
been given you to do, entitles you to the re- 
ward I anx now receiving, you cannot know 
as well as I do. I feel all the gratitude this 
letter would express, giving it the most flat- 
tering construction.'^ * * * 

General Sherman's reply is dated the 10th 
of March, the day after General Grant was 
commissioned to commaud the Armies of the 
United States: 

"You do yourself injustice aud us too 
much honor, in assigning to us so large a 
share of the merits which have led to your 
high advancement. You are now Washing- 
ton's legitimate successor, and occupy a po- 
sition of almost dangerous elevation; but if 
you can continue as heretofore to be your- 
self, simple, honest, and unpretending, you 
will enjoy through life the respect and love 
of friends, and the homage of millions of 
[133] 



The Blue and the Gray 

human beings. * * * j repeat, yon do 
General McPherson and myself too much 
honor. At Belmont yon manifested your 
traits, neither of ns being near; at Donelson 
also, yon illustrated your whole character. 
I was not near, and General McPherson in 
too subordinate capacity to influence you. 
* * * I believe you are as brave, pat- 
riotic, and just, as the great prototype, 
Washington; as honest, unselfish, and kind 
hearted as a man should be; but the chief 
characteristic in your nature is the simple 
faith in success you have always manifested, 
which I can liken to nothing else than the 
faith a Christian has in his Saviour. This 
faith gave you victory at Shiloh and Vicks- 
burg. Also, when you have completed your 
best preparations, you go into battle with- 
out hesitation, as at Chattanooga — no 
doubts, no reserve; and I tell you that it 
was this that made us act with confidence. 
I knew wherever I was, that you thought of 
me, and if I got in a tight place you would 
come, if alive. * * * ;f^ow, as to the 
future. Do not stay in Washington. Hal- 
[134] 



The Blue and the Gray 

leek is better qualified to stand the buifets 
of intrigue and policy." * * * 

These letters are worthy of the "G-olden 
Enle," as illustration that from first to last, a 
supreme sense of justice and unselfish stand 
for right, marked the relations of Grant and 
Sherman, as Comrades in Arms. It was the 
crowning glory of service to their country, 
and to each other. 



[135] 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

Grand Review — Commanders — ^Last 
Days. 

The Grand Review was a two days' review 
of marching men — ^waving banners — inspir- 
ing music — from the marble Capitol to the 
White House, in Washington. 

Many years after, in Berlin, on the great 
Tempelhof Field — I witnessed the all day 
review of twenty-five thousand troops — the 
*^^flower of the German Army'' — by Unser 
Kaiser— beloved of the Fatherland— near the 
ninetieth milestone of his life, who, with 
Bismarck, had made the German Empire 
out of the Franco-Prussian War. 

The splendid physique of the German 
soldiers — variety of regiments mounted, and 
on foot — the magnificent uniforms, perfec- 
tion of every detail, and superb as a whole, 
made a pageant above comparison with any 
Army in the world. It was a picture for 
admiration — wonder — silence; a picture to 
hold in memory for all time. 

In Washington, the cheers of thousands 
[136] 



The Blue and the Gray 

reached the very Heavens above — ^the tender, 
human feeling of the soul went out to the 
Union Army — the machine that 'Hhouglit" 
— ^men in worn and shabby uniforms, with 
battle-stained flags — ^heroes who had saved 
their country, and were now going home. 
This was the other picture — not admiration 
— wonder — silence; but loyalty — sacrifice — 
gratitude of the Nation — a picture to hold in 
memory for all time, and through all eter- 
nity. 

Here is General Grant^s realistic touch of 
the Grand Review: 

"On the 18th of May, orders were issued 
by the Adjutant-General for a grand review 
by the President and his Cabinet, of Sher- 
man's and Meade's Armies. The review com- 
menced on the 23rd and lasted two days. 
Meade's Army occupied over six hours of 
the first day in passing the grand stand which 
had been erected in front of the President's 
House. 

"Sherman's troops had been in camp on 
the South side of the Potomac. During the 
night of the 23rd he crossed over and biv- 
[137] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ouacked not far from the Capitol. Prompt- 
ly at 10 o'clock on the morning of the 24th, 
his troops commenced to pass in review. 
Sherman's Army made a different appear- 
ance from that of the Army of the Potomac. 
The latter had been operating where they 
received directly from the North full supplies 
of food and clothing regularly. The review 
of the Army of the Potomac, therefore, 
was the reviev\^ of a body of 65,000 v^ell- 
drilled, v^ell-disciplined and orderly sol- 
diers, inured tO' hardship and fit for any 
duty, but v^ithout the experience of gath- 
ering their ov^n food and supplies in an 
enemy's country, and of being ever on 
the v^atch. 

"Sherman's Army was not so well dressed 
as the Army of the Potomac, but their march- 
ing could not be excelled. They gave the 
appearance of men who had been thoroughly 
drilled to endure hardships, either by long 
marches, or through exposure to any climate 
without the ordinary shelter of a camp. 
They exhibited also some of the order of 
march through Georgia where the, "sweet 
[138] 



The Blue and the Gray 

potatoes sprung up from the ground/^ as 
Sherman's Army went marching through. 
In the rear of a company there would be 
a captured horse or mule loaded with small 
cooking utensils, captured chickens and other 
food picked up for the use of the men. Kegro 
families, who had followed the Army would 
sometimes come along in the rear of a com- 
pany, with three or four children packed 
upon a single mule, and the mother leading 
it. 

"Nearly all day, for two successive days, 
from the Capitol to the Treasury Building, 
could be seen a mass of orderly soldiers 
marching in columns of companies. The 
National flag was flying from almost every 
house — the windows were filled with specta- 
tors^ — the door-steps and side-walks were 
crowded with colored people and poor whites 
who did not succeed in securing better quar- 
ters from which to get a better view of the 
Grand Armies. The city was about as full 
of strangers who had come to see the sights 
as it usually is on Inauguration day, when a 
new President takes his seat." 
[139] 



The Blue and the Gray 

When the Armies of the Potomac and the 
James under General Meade, from Bnrkes- 
ville Junction, Virginia, where they had 
gone after the surrender, and Greneral Sher- 
man's Army from the vicinity of Ealeigh, 
North Carolina, arrived, they went into 
camp near Washington, to await the "mus- 
tering out," which would follow the Grand 
Eeview. Of the soldiers after four years' 
service. General Grant says: 

"The troops were hardy, being inured to 
fatigue, and they appeared in their respective 
camps as ready and fit for duty as they had 
ever been in their lives. I doubt whether an 
equal body of men of any Nation, take them 
man for man, officer for officer, was ever 
gotten together that would have proved their 
equal in a great battle." 

It was in praise of General Meade, on a 
previous occasion, that General Grant said: 
"It is men who wait to be selected — and not 
those who seek — from whom we may always 
expect the most efficient service." 

There is no greater praise than this, and 
none more true and just^ the world over. In 

[140] 



The Blue and the Gray 

his estimate of Army and Corps Command- 
ers serving with him, General Grant says: 
"General Meade was an officer of great 
merit with drawbacks to his usefulness that 
were beyond his control. He had been an 
officer of the Engineer Corps before the war, 
and consequently had never served with 
troops until he was over forty-six years of 
a^gg^ * * * jjq gQ^ clearly and distinct- 
ly the position of the enemy, and the topog- 
graphy of the country in front of his own 
position. His first idea was to take advan- 
tage of the lay of the ground, sometimes with- 
out reference to the direction we wanted to 
move afterwards. He was subordinate to his 
superiors in rank, to the extent, that he could 
execute an order which changed his own 
plans with the same zeal he would have dis- 
played if the plan had been his own. He was 
brave and conscientious, and commanded the 
respect of all who knew him. He was un- 
fortunately of a temper that would get be- 
yond his control, at times. * * * No one 
saw this fault more plainly than himself, and 
no one regretted it more. * * * jj^ 
[141] 



The Blue and the Gray 

spite of this defect, he was a most valuable 
officer and deserves a high place in the annals 
of his country. * * * 

"Of General Hooker I saw but little dur- 
ing the war. Where I did see him, at Chatta- 
nooga, his achievement in bringing his com- 
mand around the point of Lookout Mountain 
and into Chattanooga Valley, was brilliant. 
* * * He was not subordinate to his 
superiors * * * hig disposition was, when 
engaged in battle, to get detached from the 
main body of the Army, and exercise a sepa- 
rate command, gathering to his standard all 
he could of his juniors. * * * 

"Hancock stands the most prominent fig- 
ure of all the general officers who did not ex- 
ercise a separate command. He commanded 
a Corps longer than any other one, aad his 
name was never mentioned as having com- 
mitted in battle a blunder for which he was 
responsible. He was a man of very con- 
spicious personal appearance. Tall, well- 
formed and, at the time of which I now write, 
young and fresh-looking — ^he presented an 
appearance that would attract the attention 
[142] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of any Army. His genial disposition made 
him friends, and his personal courage and his 
presence in the thickest of the fight, won for 
him the confidence of troops serving under 
him. 'Ro matter how hard the fight, the 2nd 
Corps always felt that their commander was 
looking after them. * * * 

"General Burnside was an officer who was 
generally liked and respected. He was not, 
however, fitted to command an Army. N"o one 
knew this better than himself. He always 
admitted his blunders, and extenuated those 
of officers under him, beyond wliat they 
were entitled to. * * * 

"Sedgwick was killed at Spottsylvania be- 
fore I had an opportunity of forming an esti- 
mate of his qualifications as a soldier, from 
personal observation. I had known him in 
Mexico, when both of us were Lieutenants, 
and when our service gave no indication that 
either of us would ever be equal to the com- 
mand of a Brigade. He stood very high in the 
Army, however, as an officer and a man. He 
was brave and conscientious. His ambition 
was not great, and he seemed to dread re- 
[143] 



The Blue and the Gray 

sponsibility. He was willing to do any 
amount of battling, but always wanted some 
one else to direct. He declined the command 
of the Army of the Potomac once, if not 
oftener. 

"General Alfred H. Terry cam^e into the 
Army as a volunteer, without a military edu- 
cation. His way was won without political 
influence up to an important separate com- 
mand — the expedition against Fort Fisher, 
in January, 1865. His success there was 
most brilliant, and won for him the rank of 
Brigadier-General, in the Eegular Army, and 
of Major-General of Volunteers. * * * 

"There were others of great merit — Griffin, 
Humphreys, Wright and MacKenzie. Grif- 
fin, Humphreys and MacKenzie were good 
Corps Commanders, but came into that posi- 
tion so near to the close of the war, as not 
to attract public attention. All three served 
in the last campaign of the Armies of the 
Potomac and the James, which culniinated 
at Appomattox on the 9th of April, 1865. 
The sudden collapse of the rebellion monopo- 
lized attention to the exclusion of almost 
[144] 



The Blue and the Gray 

everything else. I regarded MacKenzie as 
the most promising young officer in the army. 
Graduating at West Point, as he did, during 
the second year of the war, he had won his 
way up to the command of a Corps before its 
close. This he did upon his own merit and 
without influence." 

Among these officers, General Bumside 
had been at one time in command of the 
Army of the Potomac, and later of the Army 
of the Ohio. General Hooker also, was in 
command of the Army of the Potomac for 
a short time. 

It was well known that the slow, deliber- 
ate movements of General Thomas, before 
the battle of Nashville, caused great anxiety 
to General Grant, and as he feared, the Con- 
federate forces under General Hood crossed 
the Tennessee Eiver, with a pretty good pros- 
pect of getting North of the Cumberland, 
into Ohio. None the less, his estimate of 
General Thomas is just and generous, giving 
full praise to the "Eock of Chickamauga," 
as General Thomas was called by his soldiers. 

"It is due to myself as well as to him, 
1 [145] 



The Blue and the Gray 

that I give my estimate of him as a soldier. 
* * * I had been at West Point with 
Thomas one year, and had known him later 
in the old Army. He was a man of com- 
manding appearance, slow and deliberate in 
speech and action, sensible, honest and brave. 
He possessed valuable soldierly qualities in 
an eminent degree. He gained the confidence 
of all who served under him^ and almost their 
love. This implies a very valuable quality. 
It is a quality which calls out the most effi- 
cient service of the troops serving under the 
commander possessing it. 

"Thomas's dispositions were deliberately 
made, and always good. He could not be 
driven from a point he was given to hold. 
He was not as good, however, in pursuit as 
he was in action. I do not believe that he 
could ever have conducted Sherman's Army 
from Chattanooga to Atlanta, against the 
defenses and Johnston guarding that line in 
1864. On the other hand, if it had been 
given him to hold the line, which Johnston 
tried to hold, neither that General nor Sher- 
[146] 



The Blue and the Gray 

man, nor any other officer could have done it 
better. 

"General Thomas was a valuable officer, 
who richly deserved, as he has received, the 
plaudits of his countrymen for the part he 
played in the great tragedy of 1861-5/' 

General Grant's estimate of General Sher- 
idan is full praise for the Cavalry Leader : 

"Sheridan's pursuit of Lee was perfect in 
its generalship and energy. * * * As a sol- 
dier, as a commander of troops, as a man 
capable of doing all that is possible with any 
number of men, there is no man living 
greater than Sheridan. He belongs to the 
very first rank of soldiers, not only of our 
country, but of the world. I rank Sheridan 
with Napoleon and Frederick and the great 
commanders in history. No man ever had 
such a faculty of finding out things as Sheri- 
dan, or of knowing all about the enemy. He 
was always the best informed man in his 
command as to the enemy. Then he had 
that magnetic quality of swaying men, which 
I wish I had, — a rare quality in a General." 

General Grant's deeds, more than words, 
[147] 



The Blue and the Gray 

proved his unfailing sense of justice to the 
soldiers — officers and men. His many friend- 
ships were loyal and lasting — perhaps above 
all others in some respects, the confidence, 
sympathy and perfect trust, holding his close 
friendship with General Sherman. Colonel 
Nicholas Smith declares — Donelson ^Vas the 
beginning of a friendship as beautiful as that 
of Damon and Pythias, and a love of one for 
the other as warm and lasting as that sealed 
by the covenant of David and Jonathan.^^ 

During the siege of Fort Donelson, Gener- 
al Sherman was in command at the mouth of 
the Cumberland River, to forward reinforce- 
ments and supplies. General Grant says: 

"At that time he was my senior in rank 
and there was no authority of law to assign 
a junior to command a senior of the same 
grade. But every boat that came up with 
supplies brought a note of encouragement 
from Sherman, asking me to call upon him 
for any assistance he could render, and saying 
that if he could be of service at the front I 
might send for him and he would waive 
rank." 

[148] 



The Blue and the Gray 

When General Grant had written to Gen- 
eral Buckner in command of the Confederate 
forces — "No terms except unconditional and 
immediate surrender can be accepted. I pro- 
pose to move immediately upon your works^' 
— he had won the first great and decisive 
victory for the Union — in the surrender that 
Sunday morning, February 16th, 1862, of 
Fort Donelson, with 21,000 prisoners, 20,000 
stands of arms, 65 cannon, 3,000 horses and 
a large quantity of commissary stores. The 
victory was an inspiration to the whole 
North, and it might be said that it was as 
great and significant a victory as the "Capit- 
ulation of Ulm to Napoleon." 

On Monday, the day following the sur- 
render of Fort Donelson, President Lincoln 
made the nomination, promoting General 
Grant from Brigadier-General to Major-Gen- 
eral. There was great rejoicing all over the 
North, and congratulations poured in upon 
him from the Army, and friends in civil life. 
Two Army officers, however, were conspicu- 
ous by their silence — General McClellan, then 
in command of all the Armies, and General 
[149] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Halleck — thougli up to this time, they had 
accomplished nothing. 

Nicolay and Hay, in the Life of Lincoln, 
write: "While these Generals were discuss- 
ing high strategy and grand campaigns by 
telegraph, and probably deliberating with 
more anxiety the possibilities of personal 
fame, the simple soldiering of Grant was 
solving some of the problems that confused 
scientific hypotheses. ' ' 

Was it destiny? Despite the slights, 
the rebuffs, the cold shoulder at every 
turn — ^the jealousy and envy of those "higher 
up" — facing embarrassing conditions — ^raw 
troops, overflowing rivers, heavy rains — 
where was the faith that this plain man, 
unassuming as the private in the ranks 
— almost from obscurity — would "become 
the first stirring force in the field for the 
preservation of the Union ?'* 

The Secretary of War said : 

"What, under the blessing of Providence, 
I conceive to be the true organization of vic- 
tory and military combination to end this 
war was declared in a few words by General 
[150] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Grant's message to General Buckner: 'I 
propose to move immediately upon your 
works." General Grant's opinion at the 
time, and never changed, was— that ''im- 
mediately after the fall of Fort Donelson 
the way was opened to the National forces 
all over the South- West without much 
resistance. If one General who would 
have taken the responsibility, had been 
in command of all the troops West of 
the Alleghanies, he could have marched 
to Chattanooga, Corinth, Memphis and 
Vicksburg, with the troops we then had, and 
as volunteering was going on rapidly over 
the North, there would soon have been force 
enough at all these centers to operate offen- 
sively against any body of the enemy that 
might be found near them. Eapid move- 
ments and the acquisition of rebellious ter- 
ritory would have promoted volunteering, so 
that reinforcements could have been had as 
fast as transportation could have been ob- 
tained to carry them to their destination. 

"On the other hand, there were tens of 
thousands of strong, able-bodied young men 
[151] 



The Blue and the Gray 

still at their homes in the South- Western 
States, who had not gone into the Confed- 
erate Army in February, 1862, and who had 
no particular desire to go. If our lines had 
been extended to protect their homes, many 
of them never would have gone. Providence 
ruled differently. Time was given the enemy 
to collect Armies and fortify his new posi- 
tions; and twice afterwards he came near 
forcing his ISTorth-Western front up to the 
Ohio Eiver.^' 

I have given General G-rant's opinion in 
full, believing it will appeal to the prac- 
tical common sense of the Union Veteran. 
At any rate, there can be no question that 
"time was given the enemj" — all the time de- 
sired — given by General McClellan and 
General Halleck. 

In regard to Jefferson Davis, when the war 
was over. General Grant says : 

"For myself, and I believe Mr. Lincoln 
shared the feeling, I would have been very 
glad to have seen Mr. Davis succeed in es- 
caping, but for one reason: I feared that if 
not captured, he might get into the trans- 
[152] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Mississippi region and there set up a more 
contracted Confederacy. The young men 
now out of homes and out of employment, 
might have rallied under his standard and 
protracted the war another year. 

"Mr. Lincoln, I helieve, wanted Mr. Davis 
to escape, because he did not wish to deal 
with the matter of punishment. He knew 
there would be people clamoring for the 
punishment of the ex-Confederate President, 
for high treason. He thought blood enough 
had already been spilled to atone for our 
wickedness as a Nation. At all events, he 
did not wish to be the Judge to decide 
whether more should be shed or not. But 
his own lif-e was sacrificed at the hands of an 
assassin before the ex-President of the Con- 
federacy was a prisoner in the hands of the 
Government which he had lent all his talent 
and all his energies to destroy * * * 

"Much was said at the time about the garb 
Mr. Davis was wearing when he was cap- 
tured. * * * Naturally enough he wanted 
to escape, and could not reflect much how 
this should be accomplished provided it 
[153] 



The Blue and the Gray 

might be done successfully. If captured he 
would be no ordinary prisoner. He repre- 
sented all there was of that hostility to the 
Government which had caused four years of 
the bloodiest war — and the most costly in 
other respects, of which history makes any 
record. * * * 

"All things are said to be wisely directed, 
and for the best interest of all concerned. 
This reflection does not, however, abate in 
the slightest our sense of bereavement in the 
untimely loss of so good and great a man as 
Abraham Lincoln. He would have proven 
the best friend the South could have had, 
and saved much of the wrangling and bitter- 
ness of feeling brought out by reconstruc- 
tion.^' 

General Grant was right in his belief that 
the escape of Jefferson Davis would be a 
relief to the President, who had grave doubts 
as to whether we had a law under which Mr. 
Davis could be tried for treason and con- 
victed. The following little story was re- 
lated to me by one of the party with Mr. 
Lincoln on his visit to City Point, in the 
[154] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"last days/' before the surrender. It was 
on board the Kiver Qneen, with the party 
returning to Washington. Richmond had 
been evacuated — Petersburg had fallen — 
such glorious results had been achieved dur- 
the President's two weeks' visit at the front, 
that despite the anxiety and tremendous 
strain upon him, he was going back to Wash- 
ington hopeful and rested by the change. 
His humor showed itself in several amusing 
stories told in his happiest manner. Sitting 
on deck, the leaders of the rebellion were 
discussed, and the probabilities of Jefferson 
Davis' capture led to the question, whether 
he could, after all, be tried for treason. 

"Well," said Mr. Lincoln, settling back in 
his chair and looking smilingly out upon the 
water, "that reminds me of the boy and the 
coon I saw in Illinois. I was going down 
to my office one morning when I saw a 
boy sitting on the sidewalk just outside of 
a gate. He had a small coon, which he held 
by a rope round its neck. The boy was cry- 
ing, and I, of course, stopped and asked 
what was the matter. 'Mister,' he answered, 
[155] 



The Blue and the Gray 

wiping the tears off with his sleeve, '^Do you 
see that coon there?' I said I did. ^ell, 
Mister, do yon see that rope?' he asked. 
Again I replied in the affirmative, when he 
said, still sobbing, '^N'ow, Mister, that coon 
has been gnawing that rope to get away. 
I've been watching him all the morning, and 
Mister, I'm dogged if I don't wish the ras- 
cal would just gnaw through and go.' " 

Tad Lincoln, then about twelve years old, 
who was sitting by his father, asked with 
eager interest: "Oh, father, why didn't he 
put a chain on the coon ? A chain would hold 
a coon." "Well, Tad," replied the President, 
"I guess the boy hadn't any chain." Then 
turning to the laughing group before him, 
he added: "N'ow it is a question whether 
we have a law that would hold Jefferson 
Davis. If we haven't, it would be less 
trouble to just let him gnaw through and go." 



[156] 



CHAPTER IX. 

Reader of Men — Statesman. 

General Grant was a reader of men, and 
motives. Of President Lincoln and Secre- 
tary Stanton he says : 

"The President and the Secretary of War 
were the very opposite of each other, in al- 
most every particular, except that each pos- 
sessed great ability. 

"Mr. Lincoln gained influence over men 
by making them feel that it was a pleasure 
to serve him. He preferred yielding his 
own wish to gratify others, rather than to 
insist upon having his own way. It dis- 
tressed him to disappoint others. In mat- 
ters of public duty, however, he had what 
he wished, but in the least offensive way. 

"Mr. Stanton never questioned his own 
authority to command, unless resisted. He 
cared nothing for the feelings of others. * * * 
He felt no hesitation in assuming the func- 
tions of the President, or in acting, with- 
out advising with him. 

"It was generally supposed that these two 
[157] 



The Blue and the Gray 

officials formed the complement of each 
other. The Secretary was required to pre- 
vent the President's being imposed upon. 
The President was required in the more re- 
sponsible place of seeing that injustice was 
not done to others. 

"I do not know that this view of these 
two men is still entertained by the majority 
of the people. It is not a correct view, how- 
ever, in my estimation. Mr. Lincoln did 
not require a guardian to aid him in the 
fulfillment of a public trust. 

"Mr. Lincoln was not timid, and he was 
willing to trust his Generals in making and 
executing their plans. Mr. Stanton was 
very timid, and it was impossible for him 
to avoid interfering with the Armies cover- 
ing the N'ational Capital, when it was sought 
to defend it by an offensive movement 
against the Army guarding the Confeder- 
ate Capital. He could see our weakness, 
but he could not see that the enemy was in 
danger. * * * 

"He was an able constitutional lawyer and 
jurist, but the Constitution was not an im- 
[158] 



The Blue and the Gray 

pediment to him while the war lasted. In 
this latter particular I entirely agree with 
the view he evidently held. The Constitu- 
tion was not framed with a view to any such 
rebellion as that of 1861-5. While it did not 
authorize rebellion, it made no provision 
against it. Yet, the right to resist or sup- 
press rebellion is as inherent as the right of 
self-defense, and as natural as the right of 
an individual to preserve his life when in 
jeopardy. * * * j^ would be a hard 
case when one-third of a Nation, united in 
a rebellion against the National authority, 
is entirely untrammeled, that the other two- 
thirds, in their efforts to maintain the Union 
intact, should be restrained by a Constitu- 
tion prepared by our ancestors, for the ex- 
press purpose of insuring the permanency 
of the Confederation of the States." * * * 
"It is possible that the question of a con- 
flict between races may come up in the fu- 
ture, as did that between freedom and slavery 
before. The condition of the colored man 
within our borders may become a source of 
anxiety, to say the least. But he was brought 
[159] 



The Blue and the Gray 

to our shores by compulsion, and he now 
should be considered as having as good a 
right to remain here as any other class of our 
citizens. * * * 

"The war has made us a ISTation of great 
power and intelligence. We have but little to 
do to preserve peace, happiness and prosperity 
at home, and the respect of other nations. 
Our experience ought to teach us the neces- 
sity of the first; our power secures the 
latter. * * * 

"I feel that we are on the eve of a new 
era, when there is to be great harmony be- 
tween the Federal and Confederate. I can- 
not stay to be a living witness to this proph- 
ecy; but I feel it within me that it is to be 
so. The universally kind feeling expressed 
for me at a time when it was supposed that 
each day would prove my last, seemed to me 
the beginning of the answer to — 'TLet us have 
Peace." 

The report of Lieutenant- General U. S. 

Grant of the United States Armies — 1864- 

'65, to Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of 

War, is dated July 22, 1865, about three 

[160] 



The Blue and the Gray 

months after the Surrender of the Confeder- 
ate Armies. Following the correspondence 
on the Surrender at Appomattox the re- 
port says: — 

"General Lee^s great influence throughout 
the whole South caused his example to be 
followed, and today the result is, that the 
Armies lately under his leadership are at 
their homes, desiring peace and quiet, and 
their arms are in the hands of our Ord- 
nance Officers." * * * This report, so con- 
cise and complete— in itself a history of 
the war — closes with these words: 

"It has been my fortune to see the Armies 
of both the West and the East fight battles, 
and from what I have seen, I know there is 
no difference in their fighting qualities. All 
that it was possible for men to do in battle, 
they have done. The Western Armies com- 
menced their battles in the Mississippi Val- 
ley, and received the final surrender of the 
remnant of the principal Army opposed to 
them, in North Carolina. The Armies of 
the East commenced their battles on the 
River from which the Army of the Potomac 
11 [161] 



The Blue and the Gray 

derived its name, and received the final sur- 
render of their old antagonists at Appomat- 
tox Court House;, Virginia. The splendid 
achievements of each have nationalized our 
victories, removed all sectional jealousies (of 
which we have unfortunately experienced too 
much), and the cause of crimination and re- 
crimination that might have followed had 
either section failed in its duty. All have a 
proud record, and all sections can well con- 
gratulate themselves and each other for hav- 
ing done their full share in restoring the 
supremacy of law over every foot of Terri- 
tory belonging to the United States. Let 
them hope for perpetual peace and harmony 
with that enemy, whose manhood, however 
mistaken the cause, drew forth such her- 
culean deeds of valor.'' 

Time has softened bitterness and sorrow 
— forty-five years — lessened pain and 
strengthened acceptance of suffering through 
our Civil War. If Grant and Lee were alive 
today, they would see a united people — even 
the spirit of Appomattox, holding together 
a great Nation — blessed by the man whose 
[162] 



The Blue and the Gray 

stand was firsts last and always, for the 
Union— the man, Lincoln. 

General Grant^s military genius, and re- 
nown as the great Commander of our Ar- 
mies, overshadowed his statesmanlike qual- 
ities, and while he was President, we could 
not see that he was a statesman, as well as 
soldier. This statesmanship developed 
more and more under the duties and re- 
sponsibilities of President. Time is mak- 
ing plain, the many wise measures of his 
Administration — of lasting beneficence to 
the country — and proving him a statesman 
worthy to rank with the best of his prede- 
cessors. These are the views of Andrew D. 
White, of Cornell University, and many 
men of "clear vision" — and posterity will 
see with this same "clear vision" — the 
greatness of the man, and President. 

We are to bear in mind, the passion and 
bitterness, of reconstruction days — "Car- 
pet-bag" influence, resentment, and suffer- 
ing of the Southern people— all facing his 
Administration. The feeling was so in- 
tense, that his predecessor had been sent 
[163] 



The Blue and the Gray 

into "obscurity to stay." But he did not 
stay. Time vindicated President Johnson, 
to a considerable extent, and the loyal peo- 
ple of Tennessee, by their freely given 
votes, returned him to the United States 
Senate, where for many years he was an 
able and honored member. 

There were but two men who could meet 
the terrible trials of reconstruction — Mr. 
Lincoln, who died by the hand of an assas- 
sin, and General Grant, who proved at Ap- 
pomattox, what he carried Out in the 
White House, as President of all the peo- 
ple. 

His vetoes were a power over political 
and financial demagogues, much in evi- 
dence at that time. He secured the Treaty 
of Washington, which averted war with 
England, brought about the adjustment of 
the Alabama Claims by Arbitration, and 
placed in our National treasury $15,500,- 
000 in gold — in full settlement of these 
Claims. 

His veto of the Inflation Bill came at a 
critical moment, and turned tlie scales 
Li64] 



The Blue and the Gray 

against depreciated currency. In that act, 
he did more, than all the public men of 
his day, to defend the Nation's faith, and 
maintain the National credit. Among the 
legacies of the war were the enormous pub- 
lic debt, and irredeemable currency. His 
stand was firm and immovable against all 
the schemes of inflation, to tempt the peo- 
ple. In his Administration, the public 
debt was reduced $450,500,000. The In- 
ternal Revenue Taxes were reduced $300,- 
000,000. The balance of trade was changed 
from $130,000,000 against this country, to 
$130,000,000 in favor. When the Specie 
Payment Act went into effect the 1st of 
January, 1876, it made no more disturb- 
ance in financial circles than would the 
''falling of the dew in the physical 
world. ' ' 

Whatever had been said of General 
Grant's "incapacity for business," before 
the war — there is no instance of it— from 
the date of his first command, Colonel of 
the 21st Illinois, in 1861— to 1880, cover- 
ing the war, the Presidency, and tour of 
[165] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the world — about twenty years. In war, 
he always won in the ''open." In the 
White House, his fight and veto were al- 
ways in the open field, dignified, quiet, but 
none the less determined in his attitude. 
It was later, in his private life, during the 
last five years, that he was helpless before 
duplicity and falsehood — and his so-called 
''incapacity for business" went down — no 
match for the dishonesty of a partner, and 
he lost everything in the failure. 

There was no "big stick" diplomacy in 
his Administration — no shouting from the 
housetops, "my policy" — no undue prom- 
inence given, "platform pledges." No 
President had a higher moral courage to 
stand for measures he believed to be for 
the welfare of the country, and against all 
schemes he believed to be harmful. It is 
not surprising that critics were so dazzled 
by his military genius that they could not 
see the other side of the man. As a mat- 
ter of fact, all through the eight years, as 
President— he had broad ideas of financial 
and political economy, and a rugged sense 
[166] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of business integrity, which were of in- 
estimable service to his country in days of 
storm and stress. 

There is a prophetic force in General 
Grant's words, written twenty-five years 
ago, and the concluding pages of the ' ' Per- 
sonal Memoirs," are strangely impressive. 
He saw what the world then regarded as 
visionary — the dream of a man in broken 
health, but marvellous optimism — though 
long since accepted by the world, as a mat- 
ter of course. It was the new life, new 
conditions, onward stride of progress in 
every line, irresistible advance to the 
Greater Republic, having its birth in the 
agony and devastation of the Civil War. 
Today, every word of hope for the future 
of one Country — one Flag— one People — 
is as he desired and foretold — a blessed 
reality. 

'^'Let Us Have Peace/' 

My recollection of the origin : — 

General Hawley and the Committee called 
at General Grant's Headquarters, Southwest 
[167] 



The Blue and the Gray 

comer, ITtli and F streets, by appointment 
made the day before, and were received by 
the G-eneral, surrounded by all his Staff then 
in Washington. After introdnction of the 
Committee to General Grant, by General 
Hawley, the latter made the announcement 
to General Grant of his nomination by the 
Convention for the office of President of the 
United States. General Grant, in a con- 
versational tone, replied, accepting the nom- 
ination, and expressing his appreciation of 
the honor — and then remarked that he would 
communicate his acceptance to the Commit- 
tee in writing. After a pleasant half hour 
chat. General Hawley and the Committee 
departed. 

The next morning, I, fearing that the 
Committee was being delayed, asked the Gen- 
eral if he had sent them the written com- 
munication he had promised. He replied, 
"No,'' but would write it now. Turning to 
his desk, he wrote without hesitation his let- 
ter of acceptance. All of his Staff had, in 
the meantime, come into the room. When 
he had finished, he turned to me and re- 
[168] 



The Blue and the Gray 

marked : ' ' I have used a word that does not 
give exactly my meaning" — naming the 
word, — "I waat a synonym." I gave one, 
He said : "That is the word I want," marked 
out the word written and substituted the 
suggested one, and then read aloud his 
letter. 

General Eawlins took up the letter from 
the desk and read it over to himself, appar- 
ently weighing every sentence, then handing 
it to General Graat, he said: "Just the 
thing; put your name to it. General." (Gen- 
eral Grant immediately wrote : "Let us have 
peace," and signed his name — U. S. Grant. 
It was sent at once to General Hawley. 

F. T. Dent, Bridagier General, U. S. A. 

The origin of — "Let us have Peace," was 
given to me many years ago in Washington 
by General Dent, at his home, 1907 N Street, 
following a conversation on the Surrender. 
Seeing my interest in it, and the historical 
value, he wrote it out carefully aad sent it to 
me a few days after the interview. Though 
[169] 



The Blue and the Gray 

showing age, it is still perfectly legible, and 
the exact copy appears in the book. 

The autograph card, like General Denfs 
letter, has the prestige of age, and has been 
treasured with something of reverence — over 
a quarter of a century. On Gleneral G-rant's 
last birthday, April 27th, 1885, I chanced 
to be in New York and called at his home, 
with a little gift of flowers. I knew of his 
failing health, and that in spite of it, he 
was working to complete the ''Personal 
Memoirs. ' ' 

I had no expectation, whatever, of seeing 
the General — only to leave the flowers, with 
a few words. But I was asked to ^Vait a 
moment," and very soon he came into the 
room, greeted me cordially, sat down and 
for ten minutes talked frankly of his work — 
cheerful and hopeful — telling me of the 
progress, and that he had just finished the 
chapter on the Surrender, and now there 
would be comparatively little more to do 
to complete his book. 

It was not the courage of the soldier, in 
battle through four years of war. It w^as 
[170] 



The Blue and the Gray 

that higher courage — ^the pathos of strength 
sublime — ^that works and waits, and day by 
day, calmly looks at death. * * * When 
I was leaving, I asked his son for the auto- 
graph, and received it the next day with the 
following little note : 

New York, April 28th, 1885. 
Miss Jennings : — 

I fulfill my promise and thank you for the 
flowers. Eespectfully, 

F. D. Grant. 




[171] 



CHAPTER X. 
Tributes. 

"Others have varied widely in their esti- 
mate of that extraordinary character. Yet 
I believe its most extraordinary quality was 
the extreme simplicity, so extreme that many 
have overlooked it in their search for some 
deeply hidden secret to account for so great 
a character, "unmindful of the fact that sim- 
plicity is one of the most prominent attri- 
butes of greatness. 

"The greatest of all the traits of Granf s 
character was that which lay always on the 
surface, visible to all who had eyes to see it. 
This was his moral and intellectual integ- 
rity, sincerity, veracity and justice. He was 
incapable of any attempt to deceive anybody, 
except for a legitimate purpose, as in mili- 
tary strategy; and, above all, he was inca- 
pable of deceiving himself. He possessed that 
rarest of all human faculties, the power of 
a perfectly accurate estimate of himself, un- 
influenced by pride, ambition, flattery or self 
interest. The highest encomiums were ac- 
cepted for what he believed them to be worth. 
[172] 



The Blue and the Gray 

They did not disturb his equilibrium in the 
slightest degree. 

"While Grant knew his own merits as well 
as anybody did, he also knew his own imper- 
fections and estimated them at their real val- 
ue. For example, his inability to speak in 
public, which produced the impression of ex- 
treme modesty or diffidence, he accepted sim- 
ply as a fact in his nature, which was of little 
or no consequence, and which he did not even 
care to conceal. He would not, for many 
years, even take the trouble to jot down a 
few words in advance, so as to be able to 
say something when called upon. Indeed, 
I believe he would have regarded it as an 
unworthy attempt to appear in a false light, 
if he had made preparations in advance for 
an 'extemporaneous' speech. * * * After 
telling a story in which the facts had been 
modified somewhat to give greater effect, 
which no one could enjoy more than he did. 
Grant would take care to explain exactly in 
what respects he had altered the facts for 
the purpose of increasing the interest in his 
story, so that he might not leave any wrong 
[173] 



The Blue and the Gray 

impression. * * * His love of truth and 
justice was so far above all personal con- 
siderations that he showed unmistakable evi- 
dence of gratification when any error into 
which he might have fallen, was corrected. 
The fact that he had made a mistake and 
that it was plainly pointed out to him, did 
not produce the slightest unpleasant im- 
pression, while the further fact that no harm 
had resulted from his mistake gave him real 
pleasure. In Grant's judgment no case in 
which any wrong had been done could pos- 
sibly be regarded as finally settled until that 
wrong was righted; and if he himself had 
been, in any sense, a party to that wrong, he 
was the more earnest in his desire to see 
justice done. While he thus showed a total 
absence of any false pride of opinion or of 
knowledge, no man could be firmer than he 
in adherence to his mature judgment, or 
more earnest in his determination, on prop- 
er occasions, to make it understood that his 
opinion was his own, and not borrowed from 
anybody else. * * * This absolute con- 
fidence in his own judgment upon any sub- 
[174] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ject which he had mastered, and the moral 
courage to take upon himself alone the high- 
est responsibility, and to demand full au- 
thority and freedom to act according to his 
own judgment^ without interference from 
anybody, added to his accurate estimate of 
his own ability and his clear perception of 
the necessity for undivided authority and re- 
sponsibility in the conduct of military opera- 
tions, and in all that concerns the efficiency 
of Armies in time of war, constituted the 
foundation of that very great character. 

"When summoned to Washington to take 
command of all the Armies, with the rank 
of Lieutenant-General, he determined, be- 
fore he reached the Capital, that he would 
not accept the command under any other 
conditions than those above stated. His 
sense of honor and of loyalty to the country 
would not permit him to consent to be placed 
in a false position — one in which he could not 
perform the service which the country had 
been led to expect from him — and he had 
the courage to say so in unqualified terms. 

"These are the traits of character which 
[175] 



The Blue and the Gray 

made Grant a very great man — ^the only man 
of our time, so far as can be known, who 
possessed both the character and the military 
ability which were, under the circumstances, 
indispensable in the commander of the 
Armies which were to suppress the great re- 
bellion. 

"It has been said that Grant, like Lincoln, 
was a typical American, and for that reason 
was most beloved and respected by the peo- 
ple. That is true of the statesman and of 
the soldier, as well as of the people, if it 
is meant that they were the highest type — 
that ideal which commands the respect and 
admiration of the highest and best in a man^s 
nature — however far he may know it to be 
above himself. The soldiers and the people 
saw in Grant or in Lincoln, not one of them- 
selves, nor yet some superior being whom 
they could not understand — ^but the personi- 
fication of their highest ideal of a citizen, 
soldier, or statesman — a man whose great- 
ness they could see and understand as plainly 
as they could anything else under the sun. 
And there was no more mystery about it all, 
[176] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
in fact, than there was in the popular mind. 
"Matchless courage and composure in the 
midst of the most trying events of battle, 
magnanimity in the hour of victory, and 
moral courage to compel all others to respect 
his plighted faith towards those who had 
surrendered to him, were the crowning 
glories of Grant^s great and noble character.'^ 
General John M. Sohopield. 
"Forty-Six Years in the Army." 

"Grant^s military supremacy was honestly 
earned, without factious praise and without 
extraneous help. He had no influence to 
urge his promotion except such as was at- 
tracted by his own achievements. He had 
no potential friends except those whom his 
victories won to his support. He exhibited 
extraordinary qualities in the field. Bravery 
among American officers is a rule which has, 
happily, had few exceptions. Grant pos- 
sessed a quality above bravery. He had an 
insensibility to danger, apparently, an un- 
consciousness of fear. Beside that, he pos- 
sessed an evenness of judgment to be depend- 
[177] 



The Blue and the Gray 

ed upon in sunsliuie and in storm. Napoleon 
said: ^The rarest attribute among Generals 
is two o'clock-in-the-morning courage/ No 
better description could be given of the type 
of courage which, distinguished General 
Grant. In his services in the field he never 
once exhibited indecision, and it was this 
quality that gave him his crowning char- 
acteristic as a military leader. He inspired 
men with a sense of their invincibility, and 
they were henceforth invincible." 

James G. Blaine. 

Portland, Maine. 

"Such a career laughs at criticism and 
defies deprecation. Success succeeds. But 
when the philosophic historian comes to an- 
alyze the strange features of our great war, 
no anomaly will be more puzzling than Grant. 
* * * He will marvel at the amazing 
mental poise of the man, cast down by no 
disaster, elated by no success. He will ad- 
mire his strong, good sense, * * * j^jg 
tremendous, unconquerable will. * * * 
Yet he will look in vain for such character- 
[178] 



The Blue and the Gray 

istics as should account for his being first 
in a nation of soldiers. 

"Seeking still further for the cause of his 
rise, he will record firm friendships that 
were so helpful; will observe how willing- 
ness to fight while others were fortifying, 
first gave him power; will allow for the un- 
exampled profusion in which soldiers and 
munitions were always furnished to his call ; 
how he came upon the broader stage only 
when it was made easier for his tread by the 
failures of his predecessors and the prestige 
of his victories, and how both combined to 
make him absolute. * * * 

"But after all these considerations he will 
fail to find the veritable secret of his won- 
derful success, and will at last be forced to 
set it down that Fortune — ^the happy ex- 
plainer of mysteries inexplicable — did from 
the outset so attend him * * * that he 
was mysteriously held up and borne forward, 
so that at the end he was able to rest in the 
highest professional promotion — ^in peace 
after so many troubles — ^in honor after so 
much obloquy.^ ^' Whitelaw Reid. 

''Ohio in the War." 
[179] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"How, like a weapon in a gianfs hand, did 
he wield the vast aggregations of soldiery, 
whose immensity oppressed so many minds ! 
How every soldier came to feel his partici- 
pation a direct contribution to the general 
success ! And when, at length, his merit won 
the government of the entire military power 
of the North, how perfect became, without 
noise or friction, the co-operation of every 
Army, of every strength throughout the wide 
territory of the war, toward the common 
end. * * * Then how rapidly crumbled 
on every side the crushed revolt! Where 
shall we find in past records the tale of such 
a struggle, so enormous in extent, so nearly 
matched at the outset, so desperately con- 
tested, so effectively decided! Through 
what a course of uninterrupted victories did 
he proceed from the earliest engagements to 
a complete dominion of the vast catas- 
trophe r 

Colonel William P. Vilas. 

"A crisis befalls the land. Patriotism is 
burned into the soul of this shy, unambitious, 
[180] 



The Blue and the Gray 

unknown man. He offers all he has in the 
world — himself — to his country. But he is 
diffident and unsoldierly in bearing and is re- 
pelled. Others of finer speech and of more 
pretentious mien are preferred before him. 
But he remains true. Again he is rejected. 
Finally the door of opportunity opens. A 
small command is given to him. He is equal 
to the occasion. His rank is raised, and 
eight months after, this stranger, who never 
loved army life and cared less for the study 
of war, has his name carried to the farther- 
most parts of the land. He wins the first 
decisive victory for the Nation and the Flag. 
From millions comes the cry, 'Whence comes 
this man?' Hardly had the answer been 
flashed back before he commanded the larg- 
est Army in the greatest war that had been 
fought on the Continent, and his fame be- 
came world wide. 

"Again, in twelve months, he startles the 
world by conceiving and executing the most 
remarkable siege known in history. His 
name is hailed with acclaim. People are 
thrilled by his sublime courage and success, 
[181] 



The Blue and the Gray 

and amazed at tLe modesty and unselfishness 
of the man. 

"He rises to higher honor. In less than 
three years from the day he passed out of the 
shop a struggling salesman, he is invested 
with more extraordinary power than was ever 
before conferred by a Republic upon a Com- 
mander of men of arms. The hour of su- 
preme victory finally comes, and the quiet 
man, who never sought fame, or sway, or 
place, saves the Nation. 

''Lincoln was the guiding force in the 
darkest days in American history — Grant 
was the hope and inspiration of that Army 
which had volunteered to risk their lives 
for a righteous cause. * * * He never took 
a step backward. * * * in all the centu- 
ries from Caesar to Napoleon, there has 
not lived a warrior who so beautifully and 
completely manifested the God-given spirit 
of tenderness and magnanimity toward a 
fallen foe, as Grant. * * * 

''Many military critics have wondered 
where Grant got his military genius. It 
had never been displayed on any occasion 
[182] 



The Blue and the Gray 

previous to the Civil War. George S. Bont- 
well said: 'Grant's military genius was 
simply a part of his nature; God gave it 
to him; and almost by intuition he knew 
what should be done in an emergency. He 
could go on the field and post a line of 
battle in twenty minutes, while another 
military man who had been a hard stu- 
dent, might take a day or two to do the 
same thing.' * * * He stands pre-eminent 
among all the Generals who served in the 
Civil War, in the completeness of his final 
results. * * * He owed nothing to acci- 
dent. * * * And thus measuring him by 
what he accomplished in four years of war, 
and what he was in purity of purpose, and 
charity for those over whom he was victor, 
he will ever remain, "singular and soli- 
tary"— The Man of Mystery. * * *I do 
not mean to present Grant as a perfect 
man. He was human like the rest of 
us, and had his imperfections. But read- 
ing history aright we learn that he rose 
above the plane of the daily experience of 
most great men. * * * I wish to illustrate 
and illuminate with exactness the qualities 
[183] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of this man * * * his supreme self-pos- 
session and simplicity and rectitude; his 
true hearted patriotism; his greatness un- 
mixed with personal ambition; his abiding 
faith in himself, in his tried friends, in his 
comrades in arms, in his country, and in his 
God." 

"We have followed him through all the 
varied phases of his wonderful life. * * * 
We have watched the quiet humble citi- 
zen, as he emerged from obscurity at the 
call of his country, in a few months to be- 
come, through a succession of marvellous 
achievements, the greatest Military Chief- 
tain of his day — to command all the Ar- 
mies of the United States, and be entrusted 
with the gigantic task of subduing the 
greatest of rebellions, led by the most 
gifted of Commanders. We have seen him 
for eight years at the head of a Nation, 
during the trying period of reconstruction, 
after the awful devastation of four years 
of internecine strife. We have followed 
him in his unparalleled journey around 
the world, which, begun as the quiet holi- 
[184] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
day of a private citizen, was turned into 
the triumphal march of the Conqueror, as 
he was greeted and honored by Kings, 
Princes, Statesmen, and peoples of the 
realms through which he passed. We have 
seen him go down into his valley of hu- 
miliation — and at last smitten by a fatal 
malady. We have seen him emerge, bear- 
ing the marks of his suffering, and ex- 
changing sword for pen, hold his great 
enemy at bay, while he wrote the story of 
his achievements, and provided for the fu- 
ture of those he loved better than his life- 
while the world looked on in astonishment 
and sjrmpathy. When the task was fin- 
ished, he laid down his pen, and the in- 
vincible spirit went forth to join the com- 
pany of the immortals, who before him had 
fought the good fight and kept the faith 
* * * His name and memory will be en- 
shrined in the hearts of his grateful coun- 
trymen, while the Republic shall endure." 

CoLOiTEL Nicholas Smith. 
''Grant, The Man of Mystery. '^ 
[185] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"'No two great commanders have possessed 
the same qualifications. Sheridan is not 
complete on the same lines that made Grant 
such a mighty power in war. But he held 
other gifts of head and spirit which Grant 
had not, and which go very far toward round- 
ing up the strength of resource between 
them. Sheridan had the impetuous quality 
that comes from Irish ancestry. Grant in- 
herited the perfect temper, self-poise, reso- 
lution and endurance of the Scotch. !N"atu- 
rally a wide difference, yet they had many 
points in common. Neither of them was 
talkative, and in their Army life both may 
well be called silent men of the type of 
whom Carlyle says: 

"The noble, silent men, scattered here and 
there, each in his department, silently think- 
ing, silently working, * * * they are the 
salt of the earth. Silence * * * the great 
empire of silence." 

"In action, Sheridan was extraordinary. 

He could be as calm as a brazen figure, or as 

flashing as a stream of molten metal. He 

would choose, when a battle began, a rising 

[186] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
piece of ground, from which he could survey 
the whole field. He sat his saddle like a 
centaur * * * there was no better horse- 
man in the American Army * * * and 
he knew his horse also> * * * would see 
every phase of the conflict * * * at a 
critical moment would dash forward, gal- 
loping direct to where he was needed, * * * 
ride swiftly along the lines just before a 
charge and raise the troops' enthusiasm to 
fever heat. * * * There was a magnetic 
influence about him which extended itself 
to every one in the ranks. At such moments 
he seemed transformed, and it was no won- 
der that his troops moved with steadiness 
and determination into the vortex of flame 
that awaited them. 

"As a practical soldier, it is doubtful if 
any Army ever had a better one. He readily 
mastered the topography of the region in 
which he was operating. He was never sur- 
prised. In an Army, he always proved on 
consultation to be better informed than any 
one else. He had the best of scouts — men 
who were ready to dare anything at his 
[187] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
orders or request. He provided for his 
troops araply and always the best there was 
to be had. * * * He was equally at home 
in handling every arm of the service, though 
he delighted most in handling the Cavalry, 
to whose capacity for real warfare he gave 
increased value. While a firm but not an 
extreme disciplinarian, he never failed to 
remember that he was dealing with men to 
whom martial service was but an episode in 
citizenship. Men fight better when they 
know that the man who leads them has the 
ability to extricate them from sudden and 
unforeseen difficulties. He was our Marshal 
Ney, and inspired the most complete con- 
fidence. No officer was more beloved by his 
troops. 

'^A member of the Chief Army associations. 
The Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of 
the Eepublic, Greneral Sheridan was a faith- 
ful attendant in the reunions which made 
each year so much a feature of our reminis- 
cent life. His little speeches to the Society 
of the Army of the Potomac are worthy the 
preservation the records give. * * * One 
[188] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of the last made was an impromptu speech 
at Creston, Iowa, in 1886, when he said : 

" ^Comrades, I came here today to see yon, 
talk with yon, and shake hands with yon, 
while Colonel Carr and others, yon know, 
came here to make eloquent addresses for 
yon to listen to. I think he has been too 
eulogistic of me in his remarks. It is true 
that I fought in almost everybody's Army, 
from Pea Ridge to Appomattox, and al- 
though I fought with Cavalry and Infantry, 
and on every line of operation, and always 
had to change and take new men on new 
lines, I was very successful. I went through 
all the grades they had in the volunteer serv- 
ice, and then I commenced and went through 
all the grades in the regular service, and the 
date of every commission that I have is the 
date of a battle. And I want to say to you, 
comrades, this — that I am indebted to the 
private in the ranks for all the credit that 
has come to me. 

" ^He was the man who did the fighting. 
The man who carried the musket is the great- 
[189] 



The Blue and the Gray 

est hero of the war, in my opinion. I was 
nothing but an agent. I knew how to take 
care of men. I knew what a soldier was 
worth, and I knew how to study the country 
so as to put him in right. I knew how to 
put him in battle, but I was simply the agent 
to take care of him, and he did the work. 
Comrades, these are common sense things, 
and I can't say them in very flowery language 
— but they are true — and they are true, not 
of me alone, but of everybody else. It is to 
the common soldier, the private in the ranks, 
that we are indebted to any credit that came 
to us.' '' 

' ' A strong, simple man — very human and 
close to our common life. * * * jj^ ^]^e 
American democracy, Sheridan's life, like 
Grant's and Sherman's, with all their com- 
rades', gives us proof that the equality of man 
before the law is the very best guarantee that 
under the law the loftiest service, the brav- 
est deeds, the most daring of intellectual ac- 
tivity, must all tend steadily to the common 
[190] 



The Blue and the Gray- 
advantage — to the uplifting and glory of the 
commonwealth. ' ' 

Colonel Richard J. Hinton, and Frank 
A. Burr. 
''Life of General Philip H. Sheridan." 

James E. Murdoch, the widely known and 
popular Reader, long ago, gave the origin 
of the famous poem — "Sheridan's Ride'' — 
by Thomas Buchanan Read, in the following 
story: 

"The ladies of Cincinnati had arranged to 
give me a reception that finally turned into 
an ovation. I had given many readings to 
raise funds for their Soldiers' Aid Society, 
and they were going to present me with a 
silk flag. They had made every arrangement 
to have the reception a very dramatic event. 
The morning of the day it was to take place. 
Read and I were, as usual, taking our break- 
fast late. We had finished, but were still 
sitting at the table. 

"Mr. Cyrus Garrett, his brother-in-law, 
came in while we were thus lounging. He 
wore and air of impatience and carried a pa- 
[191] 



The Blue and the Gray 

per in his hand. He walked up to Eead 
and unfolded a copy of Harper's Weekly and 
held it np before the man so singularly gifted 
as both poet and painter. The whole front 
of the paper was covered with a striking pic- 
ture representing Sheridan, on his bjlack 
horse, just emerging from a cloud of dust 
that rolled up from the highway as he dashed 
along, followed by a few troopers. 

" 'There/ said Mr. Garrett, 'see what you 
have missed. You ought to have drawn that 
picture yourself, and gotten the credit of 
it. It is just in your line. The first thing 
you know somebody will write a poem on 
that event and you will be beaten all around.' 

"Eead looked at the picture rather quiz- 
zically — a look which I interrupted by say- 
ing: 

" 'He is right, Read. The subject and cir- 
cumstance are worth a poem.^ 

"'Oh, no,' said Read, 'that theme has 
been written to death. There is "Paul Re- 
vere's Ride," "Lochinvar,'' Tom Hood's 
"Wild Steed of the Plain," and half a dozen 
other poems of like character.' 
[192] 



The Blue and the Gray 

"Filled with the idea that this was a good 
chance for the gifted man, I said : 

" ^Read, you are losing a great opportunity. 
If I had such a poem to read at my recep- 
tion tonight it would make a great hit/ 

" 'But, Murdoch, you can^t order a poem 
as you would a coat. I can't write any- 
thing in a few hours that will do either you 
or me any credit/ he replied rather sharply. 

"I turned to him and said : 

"'Read, two or three thousand of the 
warmest hearts in Cincinnati will be in the 
Opera House tonight at that presentation. 
It will be a very significant affair. Now, 
you go aad give me anjthmg in rhyme, and 
I will give it a deliverance before that splen- 
did audience, and you can then revise and 
polish it before it goes into print.' 

"This view seemed to strike him favor- 
ably and he finally said : 

"'Well! Well! We'll see what can be 
done,' and he went to his room. A half hour 
later Mrs. Read came down and said : 

" 'He wants a pot of strong tea. He told 
me to get it for him, and then he would lock 
[193] 

13 



The Blue and the Gray 

the door and must not be disturbed unless 
the house was on fire.' 

"Time wore on, and in our talk in the 
family circle we had almost forgotten the 
poet at work upstairs. Dinner had been 
announced when Read came in and beckoned 
to me. 

"^Murdoch, I think I have about what 
you want.' 

"He read it to me, and with an enthusiasm 
that surprised him. I said, ^It is just the 
thing.' 

^^e dined, and at the proper time Eead 
and I, with the family, went to the Opera 
House. The building was crowded in every 
part. Upon the stage were sitting two hun- 
dred maimed soldiers, each with an arm or a 
leg off. General Joe Hooker was to present 
me with the flag the ladies had made, and 
at the time appointed we marched down the 
stage toward the footlights, General Hooker 
bearing the flag, and I with my arm in his. 
Such a storm of applause as greeted our ap- 
pearance I never heard before or since. Be- 
hind and on each side of us were the rows 
[194] 



The Blue and the Gray 

of crippled soldiers — in front the vast audi- 
ence, cheering to the echo. Hooker quailed 
before the warm reception, and growing nerv- 
ous, said to me in an undertone : 

" 'I can stand the storm of battle, but this 
is too much for me.' 

"T»eave it to me,' said I, ^I am an old 
hand behind the footlights, and will divert 
the strain from you.' So quickly I dropped 
upon my knee, took a fold of the silken flag 
and pressed it to my lips. This by-play 
created a fresh storm of enthusiasm, but it 
steadied Hooker, and he presented the flag 
very gracefully. I accepted it in fitting 
words. 

"I then drew from my pocket the poem 
Head had written, and with proper introduc- 
tion, began reading it to the audience. The 
vast assemblage became as still as a church 
during prayer time, and I read the three 
verses without a pause and then the fourth. 

''As this verse was finished the audience 
broke into a tumult of applause. Then I 
read, with all the spirit I could command, 
[195] 



The Blue and the Gray 

the fifth. The sound of my voice uttering 
the last word had not died away when cheer 
after cheer went up from the great concourse 
that shook the building to its very founda- 
tion. Ladies waved their handkerchiefs and 
men their hats until worn out with the fervor 
of the hour. They then demanded the au- 
thor's name and I pointed to Eead and he ac- 
knowledged the verses. 

"In such a setting and upon such an occa- 
sion as I have been able only faintly to de- 
scribe to you^ the poem of 'Sheridan's Ride' 
was given to the world. It was written in 
about three hours and never changed after 
I read it from the manuscript." 



[196] 



SHEEIDAN'S KIDE. 

BY THOMAS BUCHANAN READ. 

Up from the Soutli at break of day, 
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, 
The affrighted air with a shudder bore, 
Like a herald in haste to the chieftain's door. 
The terrible grumble and rumble and roar, 
Telling the battle was on once more, 
And Sheridan, twenty miles away. 

And wider still those billows of war 
Thundered along the horizon's bar; 
And louder yet into Winchester rolled 
The roar of that red sea, uncontrolled; 
Making the blood of the listener cold; 
As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray. 
And Sheridan, twenty miles away. 

But there is a road from Winchester town, 
A good broad highway, leading down; 
And there through the flush of the morning light, 
A steed as black as the steeds of night. 
Was seen to pass as with eagle flight. 
As if he knew the terrible need. 
He stretched away, %ith his utmost speed; 
Hill rose and fell; but his heart was gay. 
With Sheridan fifteen miles away. 

Still sprung from those swift hoofs thundering 
south. 
The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth, 
Or the trail of the comet, sweeping faster and 

faster. 
Foreboding to traitors the doom of disaster; 
The heart of the steed and the heart of the master 
Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls, 
[197] 



The Blue and the Gray 

Impatient to be where the battlefield calls. 
Every nerve of the charger was strained to full 

play 
With Sheridan only ten miles away. 

Under his spurning feet, the road, 
Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed, 
And the landscape sped away, behind. 
Like an ocean, flying before the wind; 
And the steed with his wild eyes full of fire, 
Swept on to the goal of his heart's desire; 
He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray, 
With Sheridan only five miles away. 

The first that the General saw, were the groups 
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops, 
What was done — what to do — a glance told him 

both. 
Then striking his spurs, with a muttered oath, 
He dashed down the lines mid a storm of huzza. 
The sight of the master compelled them to pause. 
With foam and with dust the black charger was 

gray ; 
By the flash of his eye and his red nostrils' play, 
He seemed to the whole great army to say, 
I have brought you Sheridan all the way 
From Winchester down, to save the day. 

Hurrah, hurrah, for Sheridan; 
Hurrah, hurrah, for the horse and man; 
And when their statues are placed on high, 
Under the dome of the Union sky, 
(The American soldier's Temple of Fame) 
There with the glorious General's name, 
Be it said, in letters bold and bright, 
* ' Here is the steed that saved the day 
By carrying Sheridan into the fight, 
From Winchester, twenty miles away. ' ' 
[198] 



SHEEMAN'S MAECH TO THE SEA. 

S. H. M. BYERS, ADJUTANT, FIFTH IOWA INFANTRY. 

Our camp-fires shone bright on the mountain 

That frowned on the river below, 
As we stood by our guns in the morning 

And eagerly watched for the foe; 
When a rider came out of the darkness 

That hung over mountain and tree, 
And shouted, *'Boys, up and be ready! 

For Sherman will march to the sea!" 

Chorus, 
Then sang we a song of our chieftan, 

That echoed over river and lea; 
And the stars of our banner shone brighter 

When Sherman marched down to the sea! 

Then cheer upon cheer for bold Sherman 

Went up from each valley and glen, 
And the bugles re-echoed the music 

That came from the lips of the men; 
For we knew that the stars in our banner 

More bright in their splendor would be, 
And that blessings from Northland would greet us, 

When Sherman marched down to the sea! 
Then sang we a song, etc. 

Then forward, boys! forward to battle! 

We marched on our wearisome way. 
We stormed the wild hills of Eesaca — 

God bless those who fell on that day! 
Then Kenesaw frowned in its glory. 

Frowned down on the flag of the free; 
But the East and the West bore our standard, 

And Sherman marched on to the sea! 
Then sang we a song, etc. 
[199] 



The Blue and the Gray 



still onward we pressed, till our banners 

Swept out from Atlanta's grim walls, 
And the blood of the patriot dampened 

The soil where the traitor flag falls; 
But we paused not to weep for the fallen, 

Who slept by each river and tree, 
Yet we twined them a wreath of the laurel, 

As Sherman marched down to the sea! 
Then sang we a song, etc. 

Oh, proud was our army this morning, 

That stood where the pine darkly towers. 

When Sherman said, ''Boys, you are weary, 
But today fair Savannah is ours!" 

Then sang we the song of our chieftain, 
That echoed over river and lea. 

And the stars in our banner shone brighter 

When Sherman camped down by the sea! 



[200] 



STAR-SPANGLED BANNER. 

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, 
What so proudly we haiPd at the twilight's 
last gleaming. 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the 
p3rilousi fight, 
O 'er the ramparts we watched, were so gal- 
lantly streaming? 

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in 
air, 

Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still 
there. 

Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the 
brave? 

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the 

deep. 
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence 

reposes, 
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering 

steep, 
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half dis- 
closes? 
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first 

beam, 
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream. 
'Tis the star-spangled banner ; oh, long may it 

wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the 

brave. 



[201] 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

THE GREATEST AMERICAN 

BY JANET JENNINGS 



"No one can read this little book without feeling 
better acquainted with Lincoln. The opportunity 
of a Washington journalist for conversations and 
interviews with personal friends has not been used 
for a secondhand tribute. Out of associations with 
those who lived with him and loved him, has 
grown a direct and intimate sympathy with the 
spirit of Lincoln, and the author writes from this 
viewpoint. Appreciating that comment cannot add 
to a story so strong she effaces herself, and wher- 
ever they can be used, she makes Lincoln's own 
words tell the lessons of his life. You feel it is 
written as Lincoln himself would have liked it 
written, without exaggeration, and true as he 
himself was. The book is so attractive in every 
way, and so low in price, it should fill the aim 
of the writer, and reach a large number of people." 
— La Follette's "Weekly Magazine. 

"This little volume is unique and valuable, and 
we hope it will be placed in the libraries and 
schools of the country." — Freeport Daily Journal. 

"Janet Jennings' book, which proclaims its sub- 
ject, " the greatest American," is based on first- 
hand information acquired during the author's 
twenty years of journalism in Washington. She 
had there frequent conversations with those who 
had known Lincoln intimately. Side by side with 
Washington the author places Lincoln — as well as 
naming him the greatest American. However, 
there need be no quarrel on this account, for the 
Lincoln wave which struck the country last spring 
has been making the best of us contradict our- 

202 



The Blue and the Gray 

selves in the effort to give the famous statesman 
his due meed of superlatives. This little volume 
contributes more variable praise than its size would 
suggest, recounting many incidents that show in 
typical light Lincoln's kindly humor, which so 
often molified unpleasant situations; his moral 
courage, his gift as an orator as manifested espe- 
cially in that speech which drew forth Goldwin 
Smith's eulogy among many others: "Not a sover- 
eign in Europe could have uttered himself more 
regally than did Lincoln at Gettysburg." His 
qualities of sympathy, justice, mercy, are also em- 
phasized in this little volume, nor does the author 
neglect to note Lincoln's sanction on suffrage for 
women. A chapter of tributes contains many 
great names of the North and South from Lincoln's 
own day to the past twelfth day of February, 
whose echoes still are in the air."— Courier- Journal, 
Louisville, Ky. 

" 'Abraham Lincoln, the Greatest American,' by 
Janet Jennings (Cantwell Printing company, Madi- 
son, Wis.) — 'The aim of this little book,' says the 
author, 'is to offer the best at the smallest cost 
to the largest number of readers — the plain people 
with whom Abraham Lincoln was more closely and 
sympathetically allied than any other President of 
this nation; to influence and impress younger gen- 
erations by precept and example of his life; to in- 
spire the boy of today — the man of tomorrow — with 
that spirit of moral courage which above any 
other force made Abraham Lincoln the greatest 
American.' " — Chicago Inter-Ocean. 

"It is a neat, interesting and instructive bio- 
graphy of America's Greatest Man, and contains 
some interesting facts never before published. It 
is an up-to-date volume, suitable for the people of 

[203] 



The Blue and the Gray 

all ages, and would make a fine text book. It 
should be in every school and public library. 

"It contains several illustrations, including" the 
unveiling of the monument at the Kentucky home, 
last February, on the occasion of the Centennial 
of Lincoln's birth." — The Sentinel, Monroe, Wis. 

This Lincoln book has been presented by the 
author to many public libraries and by request has 
gone to state and private libraries and private 
collections of Lincoln literature, notably the New 
Hampshire State Library of Concord and the 
Drew Theological Seminary Library of Madison, 
New Jersey. T.-e Phesident of the University of 
Wisconsin says: 

"This book cannot help but inspire all who 
read it." 

Charles W. McSellan of Champlain, New York, 
who has one of the finest collections of Lincoln 
literature in the United States, writes: 

"It is so comprehensive, containing so much 
that is new, and presented in such a simple, at- 
tractive form,, for the future generations of the 
'plain people,' he so loved — whom it cannot fail 
to influence and inspire. * * * i shall treasure 
it as a valuable addition to my collection.'* 

J. B. Oakleaf bf Moline, 111., says: "This book 
will become a part of my library of Lincoln litera- 
ture, consisting of something over twelve hundred 
volumes, and I feel that it will find a home among 
others of its own kin." 

Senator Frye of Maine says: "I have read it — 
found it most Interesting and very attractive — this 
hoitwithstanding the innumerabile volumes that 
have been written on the Greatest American." 
[204] 



The Slue and the Gray 

Robert T. Lincoln, writing to the author from 
his summer home, Manchester, Vermont, said: 

"Your little hook on my father, I brought here 
with me. Mrs. Lincoln has also read it, and we 
agree in thinking it one of the most interesting 
and agreeable books which have come to us." 

As a holiday gift, this Lincoln book seems espe- 
cially appropriate. C. P. Read, of Los Angeles, 
California, with an order for twenty-four, said: 
"It is the finest little book on Lincoln I have read, 
and I know of no ChRstmas gift to be more ap- 
preciated." 



Published by 

The CANTWELL PRINTING CO. 

Madison, Wis. 

PRICE FIFTY CENTS 



MOV ^ 






One copy del. to Oat. Div. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




012 193 122 9 



